More traffic hassles on Interstate 79 begin Friday for motorists who use the area around the Neville Island Bridge.
Work will begin Friday to create a 4.5-mile, five-month crossover of one lane of southbound traffic to the northbound lanes between the southern end of the bridge and Route 60 in Glenfield, Neville, Robinson and Kennedy. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said the left southbound lane will cross to the north side and the right lane will be shifted slightly to the right to create more space for crews to work.
Although there are no exits in the crossover area, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is encouraging motorists who want to exit at Route 60 after the crossover to stay in the right lane so they don’t have to switch lanes immediately after the crossover.
The crossover prep work will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, when northbound and southbound traffic will be limited to one lane. The crossover is expected to begin no later than 12:01 a.m. Sunday, but it could start sooner if Lindy Paving Inc. completes the prep work on that side of the road.
When the crossover is in place, there will be two northbound lanes and one southbound lane separated by a concrete barrier on that side of the road. The other southbound lane will remain on the southbound side of the highway while crews work on the closed lane.
Crews also will create emergency pull-off areas for all open lanes of traffic.
During this part of the $43.9 million project, the contractor will work on bridge preservation work on one lane of the structures over Clever Road and Route 51, as well as the Neville Island Bridge. The overall project also includes full reconstruction of the road surface through late 2025.
This project will be coordinated with two others in the same area, the rehabilitation of the Neville Island Bridge itself and work on four other bridges between Neville and Interstate 279. Neville work will finish by the end of October, and the second project will be done by February.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.