Parkway East closed this weekend

PITTSBURGH — The first of two scheduled full weekend closures of the Parkway East began at 11 p.m. Friday and continues until 6 a.m. Monday.

Eastbound (outbound) closures begin at Oakland (exit 72A), and the Bates Street outbound entrance ramp will be closed. Local access to the outbound Parkway East will be available at the Squirrel Hill/ Homestead (exit 74) and Edgewood/ Swissvale (exit 77) outbound entrance ramps.

• CLICK HERE for a map of the eastbound closures and detours.

Westbound (inbound) closures will also occur, beginning at Wilkinsburg (exit 78B). The Edgewood/Swissvale and Squirrel Hill/Homestead entrances to I-376 inbound will be closed.

Motorists traveling westbound on the Boulevard of the Allies will be able to access I-376 westbound at the Boulevard of the Allies entrance ramp. Motorists in Downtown Pittsburgh will be able to access I-376 westbound at Grant Street (71A).

• CLICK HERE for a map of the westbound closures and detours.

During the eastbound closures, the second of which will take place from 10 p.m. Dec. 4 until 5 p.m. Dec. 6, crews will perform deconstruction work on the Greenfield Bridge.

PennDOT suggests the following alternative routes to avoid lengthy delays:

• Taking the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Monroeville to the Harmar Interchange (exit 48) and using southbound Route 28 to access downtown
• Taking the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Monroeville to the Interstate 79 interchange in Cranberry (exit 77) and following I-79 south to the Parkway North (Interstate 279) to Pittsburgh

To ease any potential problems during the closure, STAT MedEvac announced Saturday it has stationed a helicopter team at UPMC East in Monroeville.

Medical teams could have serious issues with transporting patients during the closure, and the helicopter stationed at UPMC East will give crews a more efficient option at moving ill or critically injured patients to hospitals in Pittsburgh.

WPXI