Three Rivers Arts Festival? Check. Kenny Chesney concert? Check. Squirrel Hill Tunnels closed to outbound traffic? Check.

		More coverage Map: Parkway East detour Audio: The Post-Gazette's Mike Bucsko and Christine Zapinski describe alternate routes for getting around the closed section of the Parkway East outbound. Another alternative: Take the turnpike Readers Forum: What do you think? Any tips?

In what likely is a recipe for traffic disaster, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has chosen this weekend to kick off its repair and rehabilitation of the Commercial Street Bridge on the east side of the Squirrel Hill Tunnels. The work is part of the $38 million Parkway East project from Bates Street to the Edgewood/Swissvale interchange.

And this is only the first of eight times the tunnels will be closed during the next few months, either inbound or outbound, on Allegheny County's essential east-west artery.

PennDOT was short on details yesterday about this weekend's closure, but promised to provide full disclosure of the project with detours and alternate routes during a news conference today.

One thing is certain: Motorists heading east on the parkway, officially Interstate 376, will be forced from Friday night until early Monday morning to exit when they reach the Squirrel Hill interchange because the outbound tunnel will be closed.

PennDOT spokesman Jim Struzzi, who lives near the agency's district office in Bridgeville, said he will remain safely at home in the South Hills this weekend. "I'm not going anywhere near the Parkway East," he said.

Those who plan to attend the Three Rivers Arts Festival from the east should not have a problem getting Downtown, but will run into a quagmire of cars on the way home. Festival concerts include Cowboy Junkies on Friday, Koko Taylor on Saturday and Los Lonely Boys on Sunday.

And there is a double whammy Saturday night of the festival and the Kenny Chesney concert at Heinz Field.

For the brave-hearted and patient, PennDOT's recommended detour, particularly for trucks, will most likely be:

Exit at the Forbes Avenue interchange on the Parkway East, then follow Forbes through the heart of Oakland, make a left on Bellefield Avenue or Craig Street, then make a right and head east on Fifth Avenue to Penn Avenue. Follow Penn through Wilkinsburg and bear right onto Ardmore Boulevard, then take the Wilkinsburg entrance ramp to the Parkway East.

That route will tie up the main streets in Pittsburgh's crowded East End neighborhoods of Oakland, Shadyside and Point Breeze before the mob of motorists reaches Wilkinsburg. Unless, of course, drivers decide to take side streets to avoid the main drags, in which case Squirrel Hill and Homewood could feel the traffic pain, too.

If that sounds convoluted, there are alternatives.

One easy route -- at least until hundreds of drivers decide to take it -- is to continue on the Parkway East to the Squirrel Hill exit, then make a left onto Forward Avenue. Follow Forward Avenue through Squirrel Hill, across Beechwood Boulevard and down the hill as Forward twists and turns into Commercial Street in Swisshelm Park as it travels beneath the bridge that is the cause of the tunnel shutdown.

Once in Swisshelm Park, follow Commercial Street until it comes to an end at Church Street in Swissvale, then make a left and follow Church Street through the Swissvale business district until Church Street comes to a "T" at Braddock Avenue. If you want to continue east and get on the Parkway, make a left and then a right onto the Swissvale entrance ramp to the Parkway East.

For those heading toward Kennywood, make a right onto Braddock Avenue and follow the Kennywood signs as you would if you took the Swissvale exit.

There are other options to head east as well.

One is Route 28 to the Highland Park Bridge, then Allegheny River Boulevard, right on Washington Boulevard to the intersection with Penn Avenue. A left on Penn (Route 8) will take drivers through Point Breeze and Wilkinsburg to Ardmore Boulevard and the parkway entrance across from WTAE-TV.