Pennsylvania Highways Blog

Today was the latest installment of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's "Community Day on the Expressway" event, taking place just outside of Uniontown on the newest section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway. It is a nice event that the PTC holds prior to opening a new section of expressway as a public preview of the new highway and make it a real community gathering.

The day started off with a "Modes of Transportation" parade down the alignment at 10 AM. There were food vendors and a children's area with balloon art courtesy of Airheads and the Rainbow Expressway trackless train. For the road enthusiasts, there were informational booths from the Turnpike Commission and the National Road Heritage Corridor.

Steps to a Healthier Fayette County sponsored a Family Fun Walk which began an hour earlier. The public was welcome to walk or bike the four miles of roadway, but you could also take a shuttle bus and get a quicker view of Turnpike 43.

This is the first section for which I attended the groundbreaking and Community Day.





Residents Get Close-Up View of Expressway - Uniontown Herald Standard

Today was Community Day on the Findlay Connector (PA Turnpike 576/Southern Beltway), but my second visit to the completed roadway. However, unlike during the National meet, the State Police did not chase me off the expressway.

The event was much like the first one I attended, and the first the PTC did, prior to PA Turnpike 66 opening. There were food booths and entertainment in the form of at Exit 2/US 30. The PTC had a booth with information on the entire Southern Beltway project, Turnpike maps, and E-ZPass applications. Port Authority buses made continual loops of the six-mile-long section between PA 60 and US 22, that will open this Wednesday, for people to see the expressway, while others hiked and biked the alignment. Pictures of the event will be posted on the updated PA Turnpike 576 page that will debut on Wednesday.





Getting Around: Did You Too Miss the Turnpike's Party on Route 576? - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette