UNIONTOWN, PA (AP) Turnpike officials have designated a 15-mi. gap in Fayette County, PA, as the next section where work will continue on a long-sought toll road linking West Virginia and Pittsburgh, a state lawmaker said.

Pennsylvania state Sen. Richard Kasunic said officials with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission told him the section between Uniontown and Brownsville is the next slated for construction as part of the 100-mi. (150.9 km) long Mon Fayette Expressway.

The section would fill a gap in the two existing sections of the expressway – an 8-mi. (12.4 km) section from Fairchance to Uniontown and a 17-mi. (23.4 km) section from Brownsville to Interstate 70.

Kenneth Slippey, the turnpike’s manager for the expressway, said work could begin as soon as 2005 if the commission has the needed $360 million.

In eight years or so, the expressway could finally be complete from Interstate 68 in West Virginia more than 70 miles to Pittsburgh. Officials hope that will open up some of the most depressed areas of Pennsylvania to new business and relieve traffic.

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