If it were me -- and it won't be -- I would consider using the following alternate route, especially on Saturday, and especially after the Kenny Chesney concert on the North Side, where 65,000 people are expected:

I-279 North to I-79 North to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, eastbound to Monroeville-Pittsburgh Exit. From there, continue to points east, such as using Route 22 toward Murrysville, or double back inbound on the Parkway East to points such as Penn Hills.

Yes, it's a circuitous detour. Yes, you'll have to pay a toll on the turnpike.

But if time, fuel and aggravation are important to you, this could be the best way to get around this weekend and over other weekends when PennDOT closes the Parkway East for repairs and bridge deck work, depending, on course, on your travel origin and destination. The option is to sit and stew in stop-and-go traffic.

For a quick getaway to I-279 North and this suggested alternate route, use the High Occupancy Vehicle ramps on Reedsdale Street near Heinz Field; on Anderson Street north of the Ninth Street/Rachel Carson Bridge; and on Bedford Avenue near Mellon Arena. The HOV ramps are open in the outbound direction only, all weekend, with no restricion as to the minimum number of peple in any vehicle.

This weekend's construction on the Parkway East or anywhere else won't be a problem for me for a while. I'm confined to bed with a broken left leg and ankle.