The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has leased a former pizza restaurant in Duquesne to dish out information about the 24-mile, $2 billion northern leg of the Mon-Fayette Expressway.

The remodeled building at 1026 Duquesne Blvd., near Kennywood Park, will open a week from today as a project office catering to the public, another effort to involve the community in development of the highway.

"We're going above and beyond what we're legally required to do, to get as much public input as possible and provide answers to people," turnpike Chief Executive Officer Joe Brimmeier said. "We'll be as fair and flexible as we can while still accomplishing the ultimate objective of building the road."

Brimmeier said he doesn't want a repeat of the years-long controversy and disputes when the state put Interstate 279 through the East Street Valley, wiping out thousands of homes and businesses. He lived there.

"When I was in sixth grade, at our 5 o'clock dinner hour, dad told all five of us kids that we were going to have to move," he said. "When we asked why, he said the road was coming. We had no say. I'm sensitive to those hardships, so we're going to do the [Mon-Fayette Expressway] with a minimal impact on people's lives."

The special project office will serve as a public resource and clearing house for all matters related to the project, the northern link to Pittsburgh and the Parkway East for the 70-mile-long highway intended to promote economic redevelopment and provide a modern road in the Mon River corridor south to West Virginia. Thirty-five miles of the toll road are finished and open in southern Allegheny, Fayette and Washington counties.

The office supplements another unique public outreach program that the turnpike has adopted for the project -- creation of five "Design Advisory Teams" of elected and appointed officials to work with engineers and consultants on developing a highway compatible with surroundings.

The 24-mile northern section begins in Jefferson Hills and runs north to Duquesne, crosses the Monongahela River and then splits, with one leg going up the Turtle Creek Valley to Monroeville, while the other leg follows the river to Hazelwood, Oakland and the Parkway East near Bates Street.

The project has been divided into 13 sections, each with a different engineering firm, for the three-year final design process.

The commission has a 36-month lease with M.R.E. Inc. for the former Pizza Hut restaurant in Duquesne. The monthly rent is $3,050.

The property contains 44 parking spaces. The building has been renovated to include four offices, two conference rooms and a large foyer where project maps and information will be posted. Hours will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday.

Lou Washowich, a former McKeesport mayor whom the turnpike hired a decade ago as a public involvement specialist for the project, will establish a new office in the building. It also will be staffed by three employees of consulting firm McCormick Taylor Inc., including a civil engineer and right-of-way specialist to answer property owners' questions.

"We believe it's a good idea to maintain a consistent presence in the corridor for a project of this size," said Frank Kempf, project engineer. "Keeping commitments and establishing local connections are two principles we identified to guide the final design process."

The project office will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. next Wednesday, the first day, with a news conference at 10 a.m.