PennDOT suspends major construction projects for U.S. Open
With thousands of people flocking to the U.S. Open at Oakmont over the next week, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is suspending most of its major projects.
'So we've taken a lot of effort, a deep dive into all those projects to make sure there isn't something that we're not thinking of that could pop up,' said Doug Thompson, Assistant District Executive for Construction for PennDOT.
Thompson said the agency is approaching the open in a similar way it would an extended holiday weekend - by lifting as many lane restrictions as it can to keep traffic moving.
Where projects cannot be suspended, the agency is moving work to the evenings, like work on the Parkway West near Pittsburgh International Airport.
'We only have one project on the Parkway West, just on the western side of Interstate 79,' Thompson said. 'We'll have some nighttime work that will be going on there, we know daytime restrictions, so again, people coming from the airport through during the daytime, you know, going to the event, they'll see no impact from construction projects.'
The United States Golfing Association (USGA) has developed a plan for fans to get in and out of the Open. Fans are encouraged to use lots at Hartwood Acres and the Monroeville Mall, where shuttles will run between the course and the lots throughout the day. Thompson says
'What we're doing is we're taking a look at any of our construction projects that may impact those routes and we're making sure that they're traveling or their shuttles are traveling, we're making sure that we don't have any work going on, any lane restrictions that would impact those travel routes,' Thompson said.
PennDOT is pausing its project along Route 8 in an effort to keep traffic headed to the red lot near Hartwood Acres moving.
The agency is also pausing work on the replacement of the Commercial Street bridge, which carries the parkway east from the Squirrel Hill tunnels toward the Edgewood/Swissvale exit.
'We will have zero lane restrictions going on from the 9th to the 16th day or night on that important quarter because that's a big point for people traveling either from the airport or from the south getting on the Parkway and getting to like, for example, that blue lot [at the Monroeville Mall] so they can get a shuttle to go to the event,' Thompson said.
PennDOT contracts with various construction crews to carry out its projects, and in some cases, was able to write the work stoppages into the plan from the beginning. In other cases, Thompson says the agency works with contractors to keep traffic flowing and projects on schedule.
'Sometimes it'll cost us some more money to accommodate the contractor with some of their operations, but, you know, that's just what we have to do in some of these instances like this with such a major event to make sure the roads are clear.'
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