6 days ago
Parkway East construction causing headaches and backups, how long will it last?
The mess on the Parkway East over the last couple of days has prompted the question: How long will this last?
That question has many answers, but let's just deal with the here and now.
Tuesday morning when PennDOT's contract first put the lane restriction into the Squirrel Hill Tunnel into place, it created a monster backup.
"That is a very highly-traveled corridor," said John Myler, PennDOT's Senior Assistant Construction Engineer. "Traffic volumes are 100,000 vehicles per day, so I think that's to be expected."
Myler said by contract, the contractor could do this for up to 35 days, but that doesn't mean a month-plus straight of single-lane restrictions through the outbound tunnel.
"What we're definitely saying right now is for the remainder of this week and next week, we will have this in place," Myler said.
To improve the flow at the merge point outside of the tunnel and stop the weaving, Myler explained they're going to look to close the Squirrel Hill ramp to the outbound, eastbound Parkway.
Further out on the Parkway, the steel is in place for the outbound bridge over Old William Penn Highway.
"By late July, we should be opening that structure up, switching traffic over onto it, and then continuing the second half of the bridge for the remainder of the year," he said.
They're also going to be shifting around the lanes out there next week, but that's nothing more than a subtle change.
Also, if you're coming to Pittsburgh or you're in Pittsburgh and worried about getting to the U.S. Open later this summer, worry not, they're putting all projects on hold that week.
However, remember, this is only the beginning. The new bridge comes next summer, and that project won't conclude until summer 2027.
