Late-season roadwork will cause weekend traffic disruptions

It’s getting close to the end of construction season, so that means there’s a rush to get as much work done as possible while the weather cooperates.

As a result, there will be lots of projects going on this weekend involving the Parkway East, Interstate 79, the Armstrong Tunnel and Route 51. Here’s a rundown:

• Parkway East – This weekend’s restrictions will be in a different area than recent weekends. The inbound lanes will be reduced to one lane of traffic approaching the Birmingham Bridge in Pittsburgh’s Uptown neighborhood from 9 p.m. Friday through 6 a.m. Monday, and two ramps involving the Boulevard of the Allies will be closed completely. The restrictions will allow crews to perform deck work and paint the eastbound Boulevard of the Allies ramp to the Parkway East. The closed ramps will be the ramp from the Parkway East to the Boulevard of the Allies and northbound ramp from the boulevard to northbound Interstate 579/279 toward the Veterans Bridge. Extensive detours will be posted. The work is part of a $35.4 million contract to preserve two bridges and upgrade a series of ramps on the Boulevard of the Allies.
• Armstrong Tunnel – Motorists will have to find another way to get from Second Avenue to Uptown because the inbound tunnel will be closed this weekend. The outbound tunnel has been closed as part of a $13.1 million rehabilitation project for the tunnel, but the already completed inbound tunnel will be closed from 8 p.m. Friday until 6 p.m. Sunday. Allegheny County, which owns the tunnel, said the closure is needed to clean the tunnel entrance and exit on the Second Avenue end. Inbound tunnel traffic will be detoured using Second Avenue, Ross Street and Forbes Avenue while Second Avenue traffic will use the inbound Parkway East to Grant Street.
• Interstate 79 – There will be restrictions in both directions for the project to upgrade the area known as the “S” bends around the Neville Island Bridge. On the northbound side, crossover lane created during construction to upgrade the highway in Kennedy, Robinson, Neville and Glenfield will be closed from 7 p.m. Friday through noon Sunday while crews eliminate the crossover lane. That lane has served as the express lane during construction. During the work, all northbound traffic will use the local lane. As a result, ramps from northbound I-79 to Route 51 and from Route 51 to I-79 also will be closed because they use the express lane. Detours will be posted. On the southbound side, the highway will be reduced to one lane for about a half mile just south of the Route 51/Neville Island off ramp from 7 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday. Crews will perform bridge deck work during the restriction.
• Route 51 – The highway will be closed between Worthington Avenue and Peters Creek Road in Jefferson Hills from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday while crews place beams for a bridge under construction above the roadway as part of the Mon-Fayette Expressway. This is expected to be the second and last closure for beam placement, but work will be moved to next weekend if the weather doesn’t cooperate.