Work will begin overnight Wednesday on the first major road project of the construction season: a $73 million upgrade of the Parkway East between Churchill and Monroeville.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said crews for Swank Construction Co. initially will work weeknights from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. to survey the area, patch potholes, repair lane barriers and perform other preparatory work. There also will be weekday work as needed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. between the Churchill/Route 130 exit and the Business Route 22 exit through early April.
Overall, the 4.5-mile project will last until fall 2026 and include the replacement of a superstructure over Old William Penn Highway and upgrades to eight bridges in the area. That will include major rehabilitation work on Old William Penn Highway-Lougay Road-Sunset Drive and Thompson Run Road-Thompson Run-Union Railroad.
Throughout the project, the work will lead to a series of traffic restrictions where one lane of traffic is closed, several weekends where traffic is reduced to one lane in each direction and a long-term crossover in 2025.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.