Truck drivers for locally based companies will cope with traffic congestion from this summer’s Fort Pitt renovation work the same way as most commuters: They’ll take the best alternate routes available.

But in the longer term, one regional trucking company is considering relocating at least part of its business away from the multiyear renovation of the Fort Pitt Bridge and Tunnel, which carry an estimated 150,000 vehicles every weekday. Pitt-Ohio Express has its terminal in the Strip District and is considering shifting a portion to Washington County.

"Anytime you have construction, it’s a problem,’’ terminal manager Jerry McConnell said. "We’re looking to relocate the terminal, at least part of it, but that’s going to be a while.’’

McConnell said the Washington County terminal would serve customers south of the tunnel, which is to be rebuilt in two stages in 2002 and 2003. Customers north of the tunnel would continue to be serviced from the Strip location.

"That’s the way we’re thinking right now," he said.

Pitt-Ohio has also just launched a new premium service called "Pre-Dawn Express" for customers who prefer that their shipments arrive before the start of the regular business day.

Drivers on the new routes, begun about two months ago, are on the road while most people are sleeping. "There’s no traffic, so they’re able to move around a lot more efficiently,’’ McConnell said.

Other companies are trying to plan for the disruption to come from the closing of the ramps from the Fort Duquesne Bridge and Boulevard and the 10th Street Bypass that feed onto the Fort Pitt Bridge.

RPS, a small-package delivery company, will redesign the routes of its vans to take construction delays into account without making drivers work an unsafe number of hours.

"They’re just not going to be able to run the same routes and be effective,’’ said Ron Joseph, RPS vice president of transportation. "It’s going to cause us to restructure, and I’m sure it will have an income effect on some people."

The RPS routes are operated by independent contractors whose earnings are based on a formula including miles driven and number of stops made. So any workload reductions could lead to lower driver earnings. About 45 contractors work out of the RPS terminal in Crafton.

The projected traffic congestion is one reason Pittsburgh Johnstown Altoona Express, also known as PJAX Trucking, moved a few years ago from Lawrenceville to the former site of an auto auction in Richland, a company executive said.

The new location includes the company’s headquarters and puts its 423 vehicles close to both the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Interstate 79.