Pete Buttigieg visits Pittsburgh to celebrate major grant for Parkway East improvements

PITTSBURGH — It’s a roadway that sees more than 100,000 vehicles a day.

“The I-376 Parkway Corridor is one of the oldest urban interstates in the US and frankly it’s showing its age,” said Pete Buttigieg, the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary.

With commute backups miles long and flooding issues that stretch six football field in the “Bathtub” section of the highway, the federal government is putting money where its mouth is.

>> $142M grant secured for Parkway East, MLK Jr. Busway safety improvements

“The funding isn’t just about roads and buses, this is about people, it’s about jobs and the quality of life in this region,” said Congresswoman Summer Lee.

There will be $142 million put into this project to not only add a new flood wall, but also build a bus lane inbound on the Parkway with a ramp between Churchill and Edgewood Avenue for direct access to the east busway. Leaders say it’s a projected 25 percent drop in congestion for this interstate.

“With over 2500 good paying union jobs on the horizon with an injection of 250 million into our local economy, we are setting the stage for growth, for prosperity and for opportunity,” Lee said.

But it doesn’t stop there, the funding will also bring safety improvements with an active traffic management system for the Parkway and adding 1.2 miles of sidewalk along Business 22 in Wilkins and Monroeville.

“They are an investment in safety, as we work to combat the crisis of roadway deaths in this country,” Buttigieg said.

But what is the timeline on something like this getting done? The Secretary of Transporation didn’t give a clear answer.

“Now that we’ve shared the good news that PennDOT is successful with this application, we start an agreement on how exactly how those taxpayer dollars can be used then the money can start to flow,” Buttigieg said.

Included in that grant funding is money to upgrade ten bridges along the Parkway and Busway.

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