Construction on a new Moon Township military commissary can now "move forward without delay," according to a statement from Western Pennsylvania's congressional leaders.

More than $17 million in federal funding has been freed for construction of the commissary, according to a joint statement issued Monday by U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey and U.S. Reps. Tim Murphy, Jason Altmire,  Mike Doyle, Bill Shuster and Mark Critz.

Construction on the project was originally slated to begin in July, said U.S. Defense Commissary Agency spokesman Richard Brink.

The commissary will cover 43,000 square feet at the intersection of University Boulevard and Interstate 376. It will serve as a trading post and grocery store for active and retired military personnel from across the region as well as eastern Ohio and much of Pennsylvania.

It will replace the existing commissary in Oakdale. The Army and Air Force Exchange Services will also construct a post exchange near the commissary.

The effort to bring the new commissary to Western Pennsylvania has been more than six years in the making: In 2005, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission targeted the Oakdale commissary for closure.

“The bottom line is that it is now a certainty that Southwestern Pennsylvania will get a newly constructed first-class commissary to serve our first-rate eligible retirees and military community," Casey said in a statement.

"I’ll be monitoring the progress very closely to make sure work gets started as soon as possible."