Delivery of Pittsburgh’s Christmas tree highlights weekend traffic restrictions

There will be rolling traffic restrictions Saturday for a once-a-year event: delivery of a Christmas tree from Springdale to Pittsburgh’s seat of government at the City-County Building on Grant Street, Downtown.

Santa may use reindeer and his magic sleigh with help from NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) to fly through the air to deliver gifts from the North Pole to good little children around the world. But the city’s Department of Public Works has to use a truck and local roads to drive this public gift of a 40-foot blue spruce tree to its traditional display area.

That means there will be rolling closures from about 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Saturday while the tree is transported from the Springdale campus of Guardian Angels Catholic Parish of Natrona Heights in Harrison. The truck will be escorted from James Street toward Pittsburgh Street in Springdale to Pillow Avenue to Hite Road in Cheswick, south on Route 28 to Interstate 279 and the Fort Duquesne Bridge to Fort Pitt Boulevard and Grant Street.

Grant Street will be closed between Third and Fifth avenues from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday so crews can erect and begin decorating the tree. On Sunday, one lane of Grant Street in front of the City-County Building will be closed from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. while installation of lights and decorations is completed.

The annual holiday tree is one of the city’s longest-standing traditions, with the first tree displayed in 1914. The ceremonial lighting of the tree will be one of the highlights of the city’s Light Up Night celebration Nov. 23 to kick off the holiday season.

The program will begin 4 p.m. with music from Louie Castle and the Salvation Army New York Staff Band, food trucks, crafts and holiday light shows. The tree will be lit at 5 p.m., followed by a rooftop fireworks show. Light shows set to music will continue from 5:15 to 6:30 p.m.

The City-County Building’s lobby also will be open for viewers to see the annual display of gingerbread houses assembled by groups in categories such as schools, children and nonprofit organizations that compete for prizes.

The schedule for all Light Up Night activities is available here.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the only road restriction this weekend. Here is a rundown of the others:

• Route 910 – Ten days of work to improve the highway between the Route 28 interchange and Indianola Road begins with a weekend closure from 7 p.m. Friday through 6 a.m. Monday so crews can repair concrete and perform milling and paving operations. Work will continue on weeknights from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Thursday, followed by another weekend closure from 7 p.m. next Friday through 6 a.m. Nov. 25. The Route 28 interchange will remain open, but a detour will be posted for Route 910 traffic.
• Interstate 79 – The ramp carrying traffic from Route 51 to southbound I-79 in Robinson, Allegheny County, will be closed from 7 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Sunday for concrete slab replacement work. The Neville Island ramp from northbound I-79 to Grand Avenue will open at 7 p.m. Friday to serve as part of the detour route during the closure. The work is part of the $44 million “S-Bend” project that includes preservation of five bridges and three ramps around the I-79/Route 51 interchange.
• Parkway West – The outbound ramp from the parkway to Interstate 79 north to Erie will be closed from 7 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday for concrete patching. The detour has motorists go south on I-79 to Carnegie, then turn left on Main Street and get on I-79 north. A series of 10 ramps is among the upgrades during a $15 million project from the Parkway West Airport/Pittsburgh interchange to about a half-mile north of the Route 60 Moon Run/Crafton interchange.
• Downtown Pittsburgh – Sixth Avenue between Bigelow Square and Fifth Avenue and Centre Avenue at Washington Place will be closed from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday for continuing work on Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s University Line. Access to the Chatham Square and Mellon Service Center garages will be maintained. The agency is installing five stations and a series of new traffic signals in the Downtown area as part of the $291 million Bus Rapid Transit system to improve service reliability between Oakland and Downtown.