Part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike will close for six hours and two big projects will have extra traffic restrictions this weekend, Interstate 79 in the western suburbs and the Parkway East around Penn Hills. Here are the details:
- Pennsylvania Turnpike – The turnpike will have weekend restrictions that include a six-hour closure between the Monroeville and Irwin interchanges for the removal of the Harvison Road Bridge in Penn Township. At 7 p.m. Saturday, traffic will be reduced to one lane each way so crews can set up a crane for the removal project. Then the highway will be closed between the two interchanges from midnight to 6 a.m. Sunday. Recommended detours call for eastbound traffic to follow Route 22 east to Turnpike 66 south and Route 30 east to the Irwin interchange and the reverse for westbound traffic to re-enter at Monroeville. The bridge removal is in preparation for total reconstruction and widening of the toll road between the two intersections, which should begin in 2032.
- Interstate 79 – Southbound traffic in Kennedy, Robinson, Neville and Glenfield will be reduced to one lane from 7 p.m. Friday through 6 a.m. Monday. Crews will be doing milling and paving operations between the Neville Island Bridge and the Route 60 Crafton/Moon Run interchange. Also, the ramp from Route 51 to southbound I-79 will be closed for the same hours. The work is part of the $44 million project to upgrade that section of the highway.
- Parkway East – This weekend’s restrictions will reduce traffic to one lane in each direction between the Penn Hills interchange and the bridge over Old William Penn Highway. The restriction, from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday, will allow crews to reconstruct concrete bridge approach slabs and install a latex surface as part of a $70.1 million project to rebuild 4.5 miles between Churchill and Monroeville.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.