Orange barrel season begins with several major road projects resuming this week

The weather outside still may be frightful at times, but that doesn’t mean local roadwork can’t swing back into action.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will resume work this week on several major projects. Some of the work may be setup or prep work for the major effort once spring has actually sprung, but it still will cause some traffic disruptions.

Here’s a rundown of where the orange barrels will return this week:

• Parkway East – Since one is never enough, two projects will resume between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and Route 48 in Monroeville. Closer to the tunnel, motorists should be careful in both directions between the tunnel and the Edgewood-Swissvale exit, where crews will be installing utility poles from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The work is part of the $95 million project to replace the Commercial Street Bridge, the structure that begins just outside the outbound tunnel above Frick Park. Most of the construction will take place in the park because the new bridge will be assembled beside the existing bridge and slid into place once the old bridge is demolished in July 2026. But the highway shoulders will be used as staging areas for the overnight delivery of materials, some of which will be lifted from the trucks by a crane and lowered to the construction site. Farther east, lane restrictions will begin Monday for the resumption of work on a $70.1 million project to upgrade the highway between Churchill and Monroeville. From 9 p.m. Monday to 5 a.m. Tuesday, inbound traffic between Penn Hills and Monroeville will be limited to one lane of traffic and outbound will be limited to two lanes. Beginning at 5 a.m. Tuesday, each direction will have one lane of traffic closed until April 1, when a crossover of traffic is expected to allow bridge replacement work. Inbound traffic could be reduced to one lane from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday while crews place a temporary barrier. The full project continues through 2026.
• Parkway West – Boyce Road in Robinson will close from 5 a.m. Monday through June 14 while crews work on the highway above it. The restrictions will be from the Boyce Road onramp to inbound Parkway West to Campbells Run Road. The Boyce ramp will remain open. The work is part of a $12.6 million highway preservation project between the Campbells Run Road interchange and Interstate 79 in Robinson and Collier. The project should finish this year.
• McKnight Road – Sign installation work will result in one lane being closed in each direction starting Tuesday and continuing from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays between Venture Street on Pittsburgh’s North Side and Perrymont Road in McCandless until early April as crews work toward a spring completion of a $27 million improvement project. Other work this spring will include a 12-day closure of the Nelson Run Road interchange, two weekend closures at the Venture Street intersection and several overnight ramp closures for paving operations and structure repairs.
• McKees Rocks Bridge – The bridge will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday while crews install overhead signs. The $38.6 million multiyear project to preserve the bridge that crosses the Ohio River between Route 51 and Route 65 also includes a series of ramps on the McKees Rocks end. The project should finish in the fall.