The northern end of the Mon-Fayette Expressway is to be a national example of how limited-access highways should be built in urban areas, Pennsylvania Turnpike officials said.

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They made the commitment at a meeting of more than 100 elected, civic and planning officials at the Meadowlands Holiday Inn yesterday.

"[We] are absolutely determined to make this a model of urban freeways throughout the country," Turnpike Engineer Frank Kempf said of the $2 billion, 24-mile project that begins at Route 51, Jefferson Hills, goes north eight miles to Duquesne and then branches off to Pittsburgh to the west and Monroeville to the northeast.

He said consultants contracted to do the final design for 13 sections into which the massive project has been divided have been instructed to work closely with representatives of the communities they cross.

"These people will be neighbors of the highway for the next 100 years," Kempf said, noting that local input will be sought for everything from architectural features and landscaping to accommodating riverfront trails.

The turnpike is to mail letters today, giving consultants notice to start their work as soon as possible. HDR Inc., an international engineering firm with Pittsburgh offices, will coordinate and oversee the design firms.

Yet another firm, Olszak Management Consulting Inc., also of Pittsburgh, has been hired to keep communities informed of progress, arrange meetings with neighborhood groups and provide feedback to the designers.

Five Design Advisory Teams will be established to help refine and finalize solutions to issues raised during the often contentious environmental study phases. They will be set up for Turtle Creek, Dravosburg, Braddock-Swissvale-Rankin, and two sections in Pittsburgh: Nine Mile Run and the Glenwood-South Oakland-Hays area.

The project has a 10-year timetable for design, property acquisition, utility relocation and, finally, construction.

As sections are designed, Kempf said the turnpike will try to finish some segments of the toll road early, possibly north from Route 51 to Route 837 in Duquesne, providing four-lane access to a nearby industrial development and Kennywood.

Turnpike officials, who have spent $1 billion so far on planning and building the Mon-Fayette Expressway south to the West Virginia line and the related Southern Beltway, still have $826 million in the bank.

While the agency has earmarked $300 million for final design and property acquisition for the northern end of the expressway in Allegheny County, it has yet to identify how it will pay for utility relocation and construction.

Officials said there's no rush because the $300 million is enough to continue the project for the next four years.

But yesterday they paused to celebrate the completion of 12 years of environmental studies and preliminary planning of the northern section. They released a copy of the "Record of Decision" approved late Tuesday by the Federal Highway Administration, which authorized the turnpike to move forward with final design.

"It's a significant milestone for southwestern Pennsylvania," said Dave Zazworsky, the turnpike's special adviser for toll road expansions. "This [project] has been on various transportation programs for more than 40 years," but 35 miles have been built in southern Allegheny County and in Washington and Fayette counties. A 15-mile section between Brownsville and Uniontown received approval from the FHWA two years ago and is in final design.

Among those being credited for championing the expressway was state Sen. Barry Stout, D-Bentleyville.

He was responsible for directing part of the gas tax and motor vehicle fee revenue increases in 1991 and 1997 for the toll road expansion program.

"We're not building the road for Barry Stout," he said. "We're building it for your children and grandchildren."

Turnpike Chief Executive Officer Joe Brimmeier was equally upbeat.

"This is a great day for the unemployed and the underemployed," he said. "This is a signal to the world that this region is addressing its major transportation problems," making the area more appealing because trucks can't operate efficiently on such outdated roads as routes such as 885, 837, 51 and 88.