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The St. Patrick's Day Parade will follow a new route this year, and Miss Smiling Irish Eyes, who will help preside over the event, was named Friday.
The parade will begin at 10 a.m. at the bus station at Liberty Avenue and 11th Street and will proceed down Grant Street to the Boulevard of the Allies, ending at Commonwealth Place.
But the ramifications of the parade will be felt far beyond its route, as some routes into Downtown will be closed between 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Liberty Avenue will be closed from 26th Street inbound toward town as will streets that intersect with it in the Strip District.
Streets that intersect with the parade route will also be closed.
In addition, the Fort Pitt Bridge ramp to Liberty Avenue and the Boulevard of the Allies will be closed. Motorists on I-579, I-279 and Crosstown Boulevard will not be allowed to exit onto Seventh Avenue; there will be no Downtown exit from the Liberty Bridge to the Boulevard of the Allies; and the Bedford Avenue ramp to Seventh Avenue will be closed.
To contain revelers, East Carson Street may be closed between 10th Street and 26th Street throughout the afternoon and evening. There will be 52 additional police officers patrolling the area as well as officers working details at numerous establishments on the South Side and at Station Square. And 20 liquor control enforcement agents will be on the prowl, looking for underage drinkers and bars that serve people under 21.
Miss Smiling Irish Eyes Queen for 2010 is Meghan Schiller, a junior at Carnegie Mellon University, where she has double majors in fine arts vocal performance and English.
Named to her court were Caitlin O'Connor, an Oakland Catholic High School student, and Megan Willison, a student at Montour High School.
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