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Work Underway For New Overpass Connecting Washington And Allegheny Counties

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – With a pounding relentless, the steel beams for the beltway bridge are being driven down to Washington County bedrock.

"This bridge we're talking about today will be completed in 2016," said Mark Compton, CEO of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

But the bridge is just the entrance to a long anticipated connection 13 miles across northern Washington County to Interstate 79, near the Washington-Allegheny County line.

"Someone estimated about 4,000 acres that could be developed and we're talking about over the next year, this is only the beginning," said Washington County Commissioner Harlan Shober.

While the work is well underway, Monday marks the official beginning of the $15 million overpass, which the governor believes will not only open development, but take traffic off the crowded Parkway West and not to mention, helping drivers on I-79 from the south.

"To have the ability to get from Washington, Pa., right up to the airport, or vice-versa, without having to take the circuitous route," Gov. Tom Corbett said.

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