Mostly the usual suspects are scheduled for road work this weekend — three sections of Interstate 79 and the Parkway East — along with Interstate 579 and the Armstrong Tunnel in Downtown Pittsburgh. Here are the details:
- Interstate 79 — Three areas of the highway will have work this weekend. In the first area, the northbound lanes in Robinson and Kennedy will be reduced to one lane from 7 p.m. Friday through 6 a.m. Monday while crews do concrete patching. The work area will be between the Interstate 376 Airport/Pittsburgh exit and Route 60 Crafton/Moon Run exit. The southbound lanes also had a traffic shift on Thursday with all traffic being shifted to the right in two 11-foot lanes until mid-October while crews do bridge deck overlay work. This work is part of a $15 million project to upgrade a series of bridges and ramps between the two exits. The other sites are part of the $44 million upgrade of the area known as “the S bend” on I-79 between Route 51 and the Neville Island Bridge. The highway will have one lane of southbound traffic in Neville and Robinson from 7 p.m. Friday through 6 a.m. Monday. The area for bridge deck repairs will extend for about a half-mile from the Route 51/Neville Island exit. On the northbound side, traffic will be restricted to one lane from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Monday for milling and paving between the Route 51/Coraopolis/McKees Rocks exit and the Neville Island Bridge. Ramps at the Route 51/Coraopolis/McKees Rocks interchange will remain open.
- Parkway East — The highway will be reduced to one lane each way from the Business Route 22 exit to the bridge over Sunset Drive from 9 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday. Crews will conduct concrete patching and reconfigure eastbound traffic during the restrictions. Inbound work will stop for two hours before the Pittsburgh Steelers game at 1 p.m. Sunday and outbound work will stop for two hours after the game. When outbound lanes reopen on Monday, traffic will be shifted to the two inner lanes from Churchill to Monroeville. The Penn Hills exit will remain open, and inbound traffic will not be changed.
- Interstate 579 — The outbound ramp from the highway to the Boulevard of the Allies will be closed from 6 a.m. until noon Saturday for inspection services. Detours will be posted.
- Armstrong Tunnel – The inbound tunnel will be closed from 6 a.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday so crews can clean the Forbes Avenue entrance as part of Allegheny County’s $13.1 million tunnel upgrade. The outbound tunnel already is closed as part of the rehabilitation. Motorists should use Second Avenue, Ross Street and Forbes Avenue to get around the closure.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.