The last time the path of the Mon-Fayette Expressway's northern leg was open to public review, more than 100 days remained to comment on the document that was then five volumes long.

The final version of that environmental impact statement, to be released Friday, is even longer at seven volumes, including 1,017 pages of citizens' comments and the responses from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

Any new comments on the plan are due by April 6, which is 67 days after its release.

Turnpike commission spokesman Joe Agnello said he didn't expect any comments that would differ significantly from earlier concerns. There is no change in the northern alignment of the road; the added volumes are to answer comments made in 2002 on the draft version of the statement.

The final plan also includes an application for a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to build a new bridge over the Monongahela River.

The favored proposal for the Mon-Fayette Expressway in Allegheny County calls for a 24-mile, Y-shaped extension of the toll road that currently ends at Route 51 in Jefferson Hills.

The road would run from Jefferson Hills, across the Monongahela River to North Versailles where it would split, with a northern leg running to the Parkway East in Monroeville and the other leg connecting to the Parkway East in Oakland, thus creating a bypass of the Squirrel Hill Tunnels.

If the roadway followed that route, it would require the acquisition of 539 to 703 homes and 102 to 114 businesses, depending on the final design decisions, Agnello said.

A second route, known as the South Shore Alignment, is still being considered, but that proposal, which includes building two bridges across the Monongahela and running through The Waterfront in Homestead and new developments on the South Side, is not favored by the commission.

The turnpike commission currently has a commitment for nearly $300 million in state money for the highway, which Agnello said is enough to design it and pay for the land needed.

The cost to build the road and move the utilities along its pathway, including the railroad rights of way, is estimated to be an additional $1.6 billion.

Once the comment period is over, the turnpike commission will seek approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration. Its approval of the plan would allow the commission to begin acquiring property for the roadway.

Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future, a group opposed to construction of the expressway, developed an alternative plan for transportation improvements called the Citizens Plan. That plan, which was included in the environmental impact statement for the highway, called for upgrading existing roads, building 62 miles of urban boulevards through the Mon Valley, and extending the busway and Light Rail Transit system lines into the area.

Heather Sage, a spokeswoman for Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future, harshly criticized the turnpike commission's evaluation of her group's plan.

"They ignored and derided citizens' input and they apparently deliberately misinterpreted any and all alternatives suggested, including the Citizens Plan. They rigged the system to make sure that only their plan was favorably viewed."

Agnello said there were strict criteria by which to judge any other transportation plan.

"This isn't like judging a figure skating performance where half of it is technical merit and half is artistic expression. This is completely on technical merit," he said. "There's nothing subjective about it. This is about effectiveness and the cost of obtaining that effectiveness."

Agnello said the turnpike commission responded to 246 of the 3,039 comments received in the final environmental impact statement for the northern leg of the Mon-Fayette Expressway.

That final statement will be available for public review at 75 locations, including municipal buildings and libraries in the areas near the proposed road.

A copy of the document is also available in a CD-ROM version that can be obtained from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's Western Regional Office by calling 724-755-5000.

Comments should be sent to David P. Willis, Environmental Manager, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, P.O. Box 67676, Harrisburg 17106-7676.

No more public hearings will be held.