'From the archive' features construction of the Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass

(Editor’s note: “From the archive” is a recurring series highlighting vintage photos submitted by community members or gathered from the Tribune-Review’s files. If you have a photo you would like to see featured here, please contact gtrcity@triblive.com.)

It is the site of a steady hum of traffic now, but decades ago, Westmoreland County watched the building of a highway.

Work on the Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass, also known as Toll Route 66, began in 1990. The entire 13.2 mile road connecting New Stanton and Delmont opened in December 1993, according to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. It was completed in sections.

This photo from the TribLive archives shows construction work while the photographer was looking west toward New Stanton from the Middletown area of Hempfield. It was taken in January 1991.

The north-south toll road offered a quicker way to get through Westmoreland County and connected Routes 119, 22, 30, 130 and 136 and Interstate 70. The project cost $270 million, according to TribLive archives. In 2023 dollars, that would cost $640 million, according to the U.S. Inflation Calculator.

The bypass was an idea championed by late state Rep. Amos K. Hutchinson. The road now bears his name.

The 1988 designation naming the road said that Hutchinson “has tirelessly and relentlessly pursued construction of a north-south road artery in furtherance of the public safety, welfare and economic development in central Westmoreland County.”

The turnpike commission said at the time of the entire road’s opening that the expressway enabled drivers to avoid about two dozen traffic signals and save 30 minutes traveling between New Stanton and Delmont.

Then, passenger cars were charged $1 at the toll booth. The highway went cashless in 2019. Now, passenger cars pay $2.90 with an E-ZPass and $5.50 without.

Improvements were completed in 2017, allowing better access for tractor-trailers hauling supersized loads to get through toll booths and onto the highway from Route 130.