It’s here.
On Friday night, PennDOT will close the Parkway East between Squirrel Hill and Edgewood-Swissvale.
To deal with detours and delays, motorists can use a page at 511PA to see real-time traffic conditions and plan their commutes.
The closure is expected to last 25 days while the Commercial Street Bridge is demolished and replaced.
Even with the headache that the closure will bring, it could’ve been much worse. PennDOT’s John Myler, the man in charge of the project tells KDKA Radio, “we would’ve been looking at three to four years of impacts to the public it would be very difficult with weekend closures and in Pittsburgh we’ve got events constantly, and so trying to maneuver this, around all those events, it would’ve been very chaotic and difficult for motorists to plan ahead and even residents to have to deal with it over multiple years.”
Pittsburgh Regional Transit says the Parkway East closure could be a good time for drivers to try public transit.
As drivers prepare for the Parkway East closure, PRT says it’s adjusting help keep people moving, especially along the Oakland corridor.
PRT CEO Katherine Kelleman says the agency is working to reduce the impact of the closure in that area.
The PRT X University Line construction work is being paused during the Parkway shutdown to help with traffic flow.
Riders are encouraged to use nearby stops or free park-and-ride lots to help avoid the heaviest traffic.
Council member Barb Warwick, whose 5th District includes Squirrel Hill and parts of Oakland, says additional police officers will be in place to keep detour traffic moving when necessary.
Officers will be directing traffic and will make sure that Public Safety vehicles like fire trucks and ambulances will be able to get where they need to be.
Even still, Warwick says her neighborhood is anticipating a lot of traffic congestion from the parkway shutdown.
If you want to see the demolition of the Commercial Street Bridge, you can do it at home, at work, or on the go.
The day and time of the demolition of the 75-year-old bridge has yet to be determined but PennDOT will be streaming raw video on their project page.
The feed will be up Friday through the completion of the project.
The demolition and sliding the replacement bridge into place should make for interesting viewing.
The point of view will be from the Squirrel Hill side of the bridge.
PennDOT posted detours:
Local Detour
From Westbound I-376
- Take the Edgewood/Swissvale (Exit 77) exit
- At the end of the ramp, turn left onto South Braddock Avenue
- Continue onto the Rankin Bridge
- Turn right onto Route 837 (River Road)
- Continue onto Route 837 (8th Avenue)
- Turn right onto the Homestead Grays Bridge
- Continue onto Browns Hill Road
- Continue straight onto Beechwood Boulevard
- Follow signs for westbound I-376 toward Pittsburgh
- Take the ramp to westbound I-376 toward Pittsburgh
- End detour
From Eastbound I-376
- Take the Squirrel Hill/Homestead (Exit 74) exit, continuing straight onto Beechwood Boulevard toward Homestead
- Continue straight onto Browns Hill Road
- Continue onto the Homestead Grays Bridge
- Turn left onto Route 837 (8th Avenue)
- Continue straight on Route 837 (River Road)
- Turn left onto the Rankin Bridge
- Continue onto South Braddock Avenue
- Bear right to merge onto eastbound I-376 toward Monroeville
- End detour
Interstate Detour
From Westbound I-376
- Take the Wilkinsburg (Exit 78B) exit toward Route 8 North
- Merge onto Route 8 (Ardmore Boulevard)
- Continue straight onto Route 8 (Penn Avenue)
- Turn left onto Fifth Avenue
- After going through Oakland, take the ramp to the left for westbound I-376. Use caution for opposing traffic.
- Merge onto the Boulevard of the Allies and stay in the right lane to merge onto westbound I-376 toward Downtown/Fort Pitt Bridge
- Continue straight to merge onto westbound I-376
- End detour
From Eastbound I-376
- Take the Forbes Avenue/Oakland (Exit 72A) exit
- Merge onto Forbes Avenue
- Turn left onto South Bellefield Avenue
- Turn right onto Fifth Avenue
- Turn right onto Route 8 (Penn Avenue)
- Bear right to continue on Route 8 (Ardmore Boulevard)
- Take the ramp to 376/22/30 toward Pittsburgh/Monroeville
- At the split, bear left to eastbound 376/22 toward Monroeville
- Merge onto eastbound I-376
- End detour
