Parkway North construction a hassle now, but needed in long run

PITTSBURGH — Parkway North construction has caused confusion and headaches for drivers, but the much-needed improvements will make things easier in the long run.

RELATED: Drivers frustrated with new changes on Parkway North

“Coming out of the city heading northbound is a totally different situation. You have folks entering 279 North from a lot of different points -- from Fort Duquesne Bridge, from 28, from the 579 Veterans Bridge -- so you have all these people combining to then get into two lanes, to get into the HOV lane to head north,” Cheryl Moon-Sirianni, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 11 Executive, said.

Over the past few weeks, drivers traveling to McKnight Road have struggled with the lane restrictions from the North Shore to Camp Horne Road.

Just beyond McKnight Road, express traffic shifts into the HOV lane and then southbound lanes. Local traffic must travel in the right lane, with the option to exit.

RELATED: Traffic changes in effect with next phase of Parkway North construction underway

“It's kind of crazy. I mean, I don't have to go downtown … I go north, so I hit it around Camp Horne/West View/Bellevue exit, so it's just kind of tight,” Emily Weiland, of Ross Township, said.

While the project is a nuisance now, the end result is much-needed.

“There's a lot more work going on this year than there was last year,” Moon-Sirianni said.

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Among the improvements is lengthening to the Madison Avenue, Veterans Bridge and Perrysville Avenue outbound on-ramps.

Other work includes concrete patching and new asphalt, bridge preservation, overhead sign structure replacement, lighting improvements and HOV lane repairs. An anti-icing system will be installed on the McKnight Road area overpass.

Traffic patterns will continue to change throughout the project until the end of 2019. The next change will be in June.

Follow Channel 11’s Trisha Pittman on Twitter and Facebook for construction and traffic updates every morning on Channel 11 News from 4:30 a.m. to 7 a.m.

Cox Media Group