Weekend traffic will be a big snarl
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The roads will be aglow with orange this weekend as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation ramps up construction in advance of the Labor Day weekend.
Heading out to work, school or just to the store? Commuters can access the latest roadway conditions on the Post-Gazette's traffic page.
Closures and restrictions will affect the Parkway East, Fort Duquesne Bridge, Fort Pitt Bridge, West End Bridge, Highland Park Bridge, Route 65 in Emsworth and Route 30 in North Versailles.
"People might want to just stay home," quipped PennDOT spokesman Jim Struzzi.
Then, come Monday, drivers can take a deep breath and choke down the granddaddy of them all -- the start of four years of major reconstruction on Route 28 that will reduce outbound traffic to one lane just north of the 31st Street Bridge.
PennDOT hopes to have new traffic cameras operational in the work zone by then. Drivers will be able to check traffic conditions at www.511pa.com before leaving work in the evening.
As part of Route 28 reconstruction, PennDOT also has announced intermittent, short-term closures of southbound Route 8 and the on-ramp from southbound Route 8 to northbound Route 28 beginning Monday and lasting until Sept. 10.
Crews will be placing steel for the new ramp from northbound Route 28 to northbound Route 8 at the Etna interchange. Detours will be posted.
This weekend, the Parkway East will be reduced to a single lane in the work zone from Churchill to the Pennsylvania Turnpike from 8 p.m. today to 5 a.m. Monday. Crews will work on the bridge deck over westbound Business Route 22 and remove old pavement throughout the construction zone, Mr. Struzzi said.
The inbound lower deck of the Fort Duquesne Bridge will be closed from 7 p.m. today through 5 a.m. Monday as a $23.3 million rehabilitation project continues. All ramps to the inbound bridge will also be closed.
First Published August 27, 2010 12:00 am
