Mon-Fayette Expressway's next phase will help test innovative road concepts

Jan. 30—Paul Metzler of Murrysville isn't confident that truckers will voluntarily limit their use of "jake brakes" on the stretch of Route 22 situated down the hill from his home in Manordale Farms.

"Between the ribbed concrete that the highway is made of and the increase in trucks that all use their jake brakes, the noise is unbearable at times," said Metzler, who has lived in Murrysville for more than three decades. "The past couple years, it's definitely gotten worse."

And while they are not working on a solution to Metzler's specific problem, members of the University of Pittsburgh's Impactful Resilient Infrastructure Science and Engineering consortium, or IRISE, and officials from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission are hoping to try out a few pilot programs that one day could help reduce not just the amount of noise, but also the amount of vehicle emissions near Metzler.

With the announcement that construction on the Mon-Fayette Expressway's next phase would be starting soon, IRISE officials are hoping to pilot and research some new concepts as the road is built out.

"We spoke with the turnpike (officials) and, knowing this work was taking place, asked if we could try and advance some research on these concepts," said Joe Szczur, IRISE director and a former PennDOT district executive. "We've had a lot of discussion over the years, and some very imaginative and innovative ideas came out of it."

Ed Skorpinski from the turnpike is leading the coordination and design efforts and said working with IRISE has been "a great collaboration."

"We see an opportunity to use the Mon-Fayette Expressway as a testing ground for different innovations," Skorpinski said.

One is a new concrete meta-

material for sound walls, to create a prototype that can address not just Metzler's issue — traffic noise — but also absorb some of the emission contaminants created as drivers zip past.

"If it works well, it will reduce noise at a lower cost and also make the air more desirable," said Julie Vandenbossche, the William Kepler Whiteford Professor at Pitt's Swanson Engineering School and IRISE research director.

Skorpinski said different types of surface treatments, including titanium dioxide, could be used to absorb auto emissions.

"At this point, we don't have a final design, but the idea is to integrate all this into one design that can provide all the benefits we want to see," he said.

Another concept involves taking the material used to reinforce roadway concrete and using it to generate electricity.

"You see these geo-synthetics and grids used for reinforcing concrete," Szczur said. "But what we're going to develop is a geo-grid made from recycled plastic and other materials that can actually generate electricity when it's subjected to pressure and vibration. We're hoping it can help power electrified elements along the turnpike, whether it's lights or electric-vehicle charging stations."

Essentially, turnpike drivers' use of the road also theoretically would help power the lights that illuminate the highway at night. Szczur and Vandenbossche said project officials also will test whether material embedded in the roadway can help charge electric vehicles as they move.

The biggest project is a "digital twin" of the new roadway.

"It will be an exact digital replica of what's being built," Szczur said. "It'll focus on the structure being built, the pavement adjacent to it and a stormwater management system in the vicinity that will be able to not just depict exactly what's built, but be used as a tool for maintenance monitoring."

"That's the largest-scope project," Skorpinski said.

Work on the next stretch of the Mon-Fayette Expressway recently was awarded to Pittsburgh-based Trumbull Corp. The $214 million contract will have Trumbull construct a 3.1-mile section of highway from Clairton through Jefferson Hills to West Mifflin.

Vandenbossche said IRISE officials are not sure of the specific areas or which pilot projects will be tested.

"It's really exciting for us, though, because we can dream up all these things at the university," she said. "But it's also critical to have a partner like the turnpike that can help us stay grounded and work on things that can realistically be implemented."

The next phase is part of the larger, $1.3 billion project that will create eight miles of new highway, with two lanes in each direction.

Szczur said he is looking forward to testing IRISE's new concepts and evaluating whether they could be expanded to other new road construction in Pennsylvania.

"It's pretty exciting," he said.

Metzler said if the IRISE consortium is looking beyond new construction, he would love to have them pilot one of the new sound walls along the quarter-mile stretch of Route 22 running past Manordale Farms.

"If they'd like a test area, this would be a good one," he said.

Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick by email at pvarine@triblive.com or via Twitter .