Construction on a 43,000-square-foot Moon Township military commissary will begin Aug. 17. 

The long-planned project will break ground at the corner of University Boulevard and the Interstate 376 Business Route, according to a statement released by Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair. 

The commissary will act as a grocery store and trading post exclusively for more than 160,000 military personnel and family members in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. It will replace the region's existing commissary in Oakdale. 

The post is expected to be completed by October 2013.

The $12 million contract for the project was awarded in June to Mississippi construction firm Carothers Construction Inc., according to the Department of Defense.  

The effort to bring the new commissary to Moon has been in the works since 2005, when the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission targeted the Oakdale commissary for closure.

From Rep. Murphy's statement: 

“This effort has been six years in the making, and I’m thrilled the moment has finally arrived to break ground. Since 2005 when we fought to include language in the (Base Closure and Realignment Commission) report preventing the military from closing the commissary to when I secured the federal funding needed to build the facility, it’s been a long and difficult challenge, but we worked together to make this new facility a reality for our region’s military families.”

The project's groundbreaking ceremony is slated for 10 a.m. Aug. 17. Check back with Patch for coverage.