One lane of Interstate 79 will be closed in both directions from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow between the Ohio River and the I-279 junction in Franklin Park.

Then, lanes will be closed after 7 p.m. weekdays and over weekends for about the next two weeks as a contractor prepares the highway to cross traffic from the southbound lanes to the northbound lanes that were rebuilt last construction season.

The restrictions mark the official restart of the $61 million, 6.6-mile rehabilitation project that passes through parts of seven municipalities west of Pittsburgh.

Sometime early next month, the crossovers will be opened and work will throttle up on the southbound lanes, starting with breaking up the 30-year-old concrete mainline. The same express lane traffic control strategy used last year will be put into effect this year, including a local lane in use during peak hours at the Mount Nebo interchange.

Nicholson Road Bridge crossing I-79 will be closed in June for rehabilitation.

Average daily traffic through the work zone is 47,000 vehicles -- about 12 percent of them trucks -- although the number increases during the summer vacation season. The stretch of I-79 between the Ohio River and I-279 carries less than half as much traffic as other stretches of the highway through Allegheny County.