Anyone who ever met Frank Irey Jr. will recall his signature handshake. As one approached him, Irey’s warm smile and seemingly always upbeat mood was punctuated by a handshake that greeted people even as they approached him. When Irey shook your hand, you were properly welcomed – there was no doubt about it. But I recall one day when Irey extended his hand to a stranger and a handshake was not at the end of it. Instead, he was pointing his finger defiantly at a stranger who dared to challenge him. The stranger dared to exclaim in Irey’s presence that the Mon/Fayette Expressway would never be built. The stranger’s prediction several years ago occurred not far from where monumental ribbon-cutting ceremonies were held in May for the expressway link that tied the Mid-Mon Valley to Jefferson Borough in southern Allegheny County. There was the one sure way – maybe the only way – to get Irey’s ire up. You see, his commitment to the Mon/Fayette Expressway was about as firm as, well, his handshake. Irey’s lifetime of public service was about more than just the Mon/Fayette Expressway. His volunteer service impacted health care, economic development and politics. But Irey will be implacably tied to the expressway. In a billion dollar project advanced by scores of people over five decades, Irey’s part in advancing this crucial project was undeniable. Whenever the cause was the Mon/Fayette Expressway, Irey was always there. He was there for ribbon-cuttings and groundbreakings for the project. When public hearings were held or opponents sounded off on the expressway, Irey was always there. He was even in the behind-the-scene places that made these public events possible. He would tell anyone who would listen why the expressway was so important to the future success of the Mid-Mon Valley he loved. In May, Sen. J. Barry Stout’s efforts were recognized with the naming of the expressway in Washington County in honor of the Bentleyville state lawmaker. Yet, on that day, Stout chose to seek out for recognition those who have played a part in the highway’s big day. Stout handed out personally designed Westerwal plates to a couple dozen persons who played a key role in the highway’s development. Irey was among those who received a commemorative plate. Prior to that day’s festivities, Irey had a joyful reunion with MVPC executive director Joe Kirk and Kirk’s predecessor, Bob Logue. It was a reunion of the progress council, past, present and future. Undoubtedly, they talked about an incident more than 20 years before that would shape the events of the day. The day before the ribbon-cutting ceremonies, Logue recalled for me that monumental event – and the part that Irey played in it. He recalled that then-State Rep. George Pott had proposed legislation to build the expressway and other similar highways as toll roads. The Gibsonia lawmaker accepted an invitation to discuss his idea at a meeting at the Mon Valley Country Club in Carroll Township. Pott’s plan received the endorsement of the Mon Valley Progress Council. But Irey learned that then-Gov. Richard Thornburgh was preparing to veto the legislation and he called the governor. Irey, who would serve as chairman of the Washington County Republican Committee, was one of the few people in the Mid-Mon Valley with access to the governor. Irey laughed when he recalled the telephone conversation for me in May. “Frank, we have to veto it,” Irey recalled the governor telling him. “There’s wording in there that’s unconstitutional and it would be thrown out by the courts.” Thornburgh promised Irey he would look into the matter further. Soon after, Irey recalled, Dr. Thomas Larson, secretary of the state Department of Transportation, called Irey with a proposition. While vetoing the bill, Thornburgh would establish the Toll Roads Task Force. Logue would be chairman of the task force and Stout would be a member. The 11-man task force would choose priorities for toll road construction. Members of the Toll Roads Task Force put aside parochialism and saw to it that the roads they identified were built one by one. The Mon/Fayette Expressway is the final, albeit largest, project they identified. But that road might not have ever progressed so far without the formation of the task force Irey helped spark. “The right people were in the right place at the right time,” Logue told me. Irey, who died Saturday, was just one such man.

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