PITTSBURGH -- The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has officially closed outbound (northbound) Route 28 to through-traffic at the Etna Interchange.

Drivers were told to expect evening rush delays. Traffic is expected to back up outbound from the city on a daily basis.

On Monday evening, Channel 11 reporter Vince Sims traveled the detour route and said traffic wasn't too bad. He made it through the detour in 27 minutes.

The outbound Route 28 lane closures will continue around-the-clock through late October to allow crews to remove and replace the bridge that carries northbound Route 28 over the 62nd Street Bridge.

All ramps at the interchange will remain open. Northbound traffic will be required to exit to either northbound Route 8 toward Etna or into Sharpsburg (Exit 5A) to access the 62nd Street Bridge.

Orange and white dividers now guide traffic along Route 28 into a new pattern. PennDOT estimates 20,000 to 25,000 drivers use the northbound Route 28 daily.

Northbound Route 28 Official Posted Detour:

From northbound Route 28, take Exit 5A (Sharpsburg)
• Cross the 62nd Street Bridge
• Turn left onto Butler Street
• Follow Butler Street to the Highland Park Bridge
• Cross Highland Park Bridge to access northbound Route 28

"As they say, ‘A little bit of pain for a long term gain’,” said Struzzi. “That's going to be a much better flow of traffic for the Etna interchange when this project is finished up here this fall."

Lane closures and single lane traffic will remain in place on northbound Route 28 from the Route 8 on-ramp to the Highland Park Bridge. Northbound traffic will use the left passing lane (right lane closed) to the bridge that carries Route 28 over Kittanning Pike.

At the Kittanning Pike Bridge, traffic will shift onto the right lane (left lane closed) to the Highland Park Bridge. Traffic will remain in this pattern for several months.

“Yes, it's going to be an inconvenience -- a detour of a major route is a major inconvenience,” said Struzzi. “But, you know, it’s necessary for us to replace that bridge and improve the Etna interchange."

The $22.5 million Route 28 Etna Phase IV improvement project includes bituminous and concrete pavement reconstruction, approach roadway widening, drainage, guide rail, curb, shoulders, highway lighting, signing, pavement marking, bridge reconstruction and rehabilitation, wall construction, and other miscellaneous construction.

When completed in fall 2009, the project will reconfigure northbound Route 28 to create a significant congestion and mobility improvement through the interchange area.

The project represents the fourth phase of a five-phase effort to improve and upgrade Route 28 through the Etna interchange area. The southbound lanes were reconstructed during previous phases of the project. Phase V will be underway in 2010.