PITTSBURGH — Come July 10, a three-mile stretch of the Parkway East will be closed for 25 days, as crews replace the Commercial Street Bridge between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and Swissvale/Edgewood Interchange.
PennDOT officials are encouraging drivers to plan ahead.
At 5 p.m. Wednesday, a public meeting will be held virtually to give drivers the opportunity to hear plans and ask questions, as PennDOT prepares for the $95 million project, which includes the lateral slide of a new bridge onto the existing alignment of Interstate 376.
“We’re going to take the deck off conventionally. But the concrete arches of the existing bridge – that’s very hard to demolish safely – those will be blasted to drop that all the ground quickly and efficiently,” said John Myler, PennDOT senior assistant construction manager.
Engineers said the Parkway will be open to the Squirrel Hill Interchange, but that won’t be the primary detour.
“Our intended interstate travel lane is to exit at the Forbes Avenue exit and go through Oakland, continue on Fifth Ave, Penn Avenue, and back onto the Parkway at the Wilkinsburg interchange,” Myler said.
Drivers heading into the city can exit at Wilkinsburg and detour through Oakland. PennDOT also wants drivers to be aware of intermittent lane closures on nearby stretches of the Parkway East as part of other road projects underway.
“With the reduced traffic, we’re going to take advantage of that and get extensive work done,” Myler said.
With the closure set to be in place until early August, PennDOT is advising drivers to plan ahead, work from home, or carpool. If you can, avoid the area altogether. Engineers say they’re taking all necessary precautions to make sure the bridge is safe.
“During the move, and once it’s installed in place, we have extensive checks. While the bridge is being laterally slid, we are taking constant measurements of the bridge to assure it’s still in a safe set-up,” Myler said.
“It’s really an amazing engineering feat, and if it works, it’ll be phenomenal, but I think it’s a bit chance-y,” said Harry Back of O’Hara Twp. “Our friends who still live in Churchill are dreading coming into the city because it’s going to be such an inconvenience.”
The bridge spans over Nine Mile Run, Frick Park, and Commercial Street.
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