Pittsburgh Parkway East Closure: What To Know

PITTSBURGH, PA — Question: Where do you put 100,000 displaced motorists daily when you close a major highway?

Answer: Pittsburgh is about to find out.

Beginning Friday night, a key section of the Parkway East between the eastern end of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and the Edgewood/Swissvale exit will close until Aug. 5.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The closure is necessary because of the $95 million Commercial Street bridge replacement project. The old bridge will be demolished and its replacement - which was built in Frick Park adjacent to the existing span-will laterally slide onto the existing parkway alignment.

The Commercial Street Bridge project is one of the largest lateral slide projects ever performed in Pennsylvania.

PennDOTi is warning that heavy delays will occur on detour routes and advises people to work from home or use alternate routes as able.

The agency also is advising people to carpool with a friend or connect with PRT bus or Westmoreland Transit Service to reduce closure traffic. To find a location, click "Resources"at this link.

For real-time traffic updates, people can call 511, download the 501 mobile app or visit 511PA.com.

DETOURS

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

Police will assist drivers at major intersections along the detour routes.

To avoid extensive delays on the posted detours, the department suggests the following alternate routes for travelers’ consideration, which can also be found on the Commercial Street Bridge webpage:

• Alternate Route1: I-76 and I-79
• Alternate Route 2: I-76 and Route 28
• Alternate Route 3: Route 48 and Route 148

In conjunction with the bridge closure, starting at 9:00 p.m. Friday, July 10, the following ramps will be closed and detoured through 5:a.m. on Aug. 3 to increase the flow of traffic:

• Churchill on-ramp to westbound I-376
• Forest Hills on-ramp to westbound I-376
• Swissvale on-ramp to westbound I-376
• Edgewood on-ramp to westbound I-376
• Boulevard of the Allies on-ramp to eastbound I-376
• Oakland/Bates Street on-ramp to eastbound I-376
• Squirrel Hill/Beechwood Boulevard on-ramp to eastbound I-376
• Edgewood on-ramp to eastbound I-376

Posted Detours

Churchill on-ramp to westbound I-376

• Continue on William Penn Avenue

• 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

Forest Hills on-ramp to westbound I-376

• Continue onto Route 8 (Ardmore Boulevard)
• Bear left to continue on Route 8 (Penn Avenue)
• Turn left onto Fifth Avenue
• Bear left onto the ramp toward westbound I-376 to the Boulevard of the Allies
• 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

Edgewood on-ramp to westbound I-376

• Continue on South Braddock Avenue to 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

Swissvale on-ramp to westbound I-376

• Continue on South Braddock Avenue
• ·Turn left 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

Boulevard of the Allies on-ramp to eastbound I-376

• Continue straight on Route 885 (Boulevard of the Allies)
• Take the ramp on the right toward Forbes Avenue
• 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

Oakland/Bates Street on-ramp to eastbound I-376

• From Bates Street, turn onto Second Avenue
• Continue on Second Avenue, which turns into Route 885 (Irvine Street)
• Cross the Glenwood Bridge
• Exit right toward Route 837/Glass Run Road/Carson Street/Homestead
• Turn left onto Glass Run Road
• Turn left onto the ramp toward Carson Street/Homestead/Glenwood Bridge
• Stay in the center lane to bear left toward Route 837/Homestead
• Bear right to stay on Route 837 toward Homestead
• Continue straight on 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

Squirrel Hill/Beechwood Boulevard on-ramp to eastbound I-376

• From Beechwood Boulevard, take Murray Avenue
• Turn right onto Wilkins Avenue
• Turn left onto Dallas 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

Edgewood on-ramp to eastbound I-376

• Continue on Monogahela Avenue
• Make a quick right onto Schoyer Avenue
• Make a quick left back onto Monogahela Avenue
• Turn left onto Church Street
• Turn left onto South Braddock Avenue
• Take the on-ramp to eastbound I-376
• End detour

Additionally, starting Friday at 9 p.m. Traffic will be reduced to a single lane in each direction between the Edgewood/Swissvale (Exit 77) and Wilkinsburg (Exit 78B) interchanges around-the-clock until the Commercial Street Bridge reopens to traffic in early August.

WHAT'S OPEN

• Travelers headed westbound I-376 will be able to access the Edgewood/Swissvale (Exit 77) interchange.
• The Squirrel Hill/Homestead (Exit 74) interchange will remain open in each direction.
• The ramp from the Boulevard of the Allies to westbound I-376 will remain open.
• The ramp from Swissvale to eastbound I-376 will remain open.
• The Forest Hills on-ramp to eastbound I-376 will remain open.

During the bridge closure, Route 885 (Boulevard of the Allies) will be reduced to a single lane of traffic in the southbound (inbound) direction to assist with the flow of traffic.

PennDOT is reminding motorists to be patient, use caution and avoid distractions on the road. As some of the detours take traffic through the city and residential neighborhoods, be aware of pedestrians and bicyclists.

Pedestrians and cyclists are also reminded of the increased traffic along and near the detour routes and are encouraged to remain alert, increase their visibility, and abide by the rules of the road.