More major roadwork projects resume this weekend after a mostly quiet winter. Here’s the rundown:
- McKnight Road – Beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, one lane of inbound McKnight Road will close for four months between Perrymont Road in McCandless and the Babcock Boulevard/Evergreen Road interchange on Pittsburgh’s North Side. The closure will allow crews to make concrete repairs and do drainage work as part of a $27 million update to the highway. Before the project that began last year is finished this spring, there will be a 12-day closure of the Nelson Run Road interchange and two weekend closures at the Venture Street intersection.
- Grand Avenue, Neville Township – The ramp from Grand Avenue to northbound Interstate 79 will close for three weeks beginning 6 a.m. Monday. The ramp will be closed until March 31 while crews repair its deck. The recommended detour has traffic headed west on Grand Avenue cross the Coraopolis Bridge and turn right on Route 51, left on Broadway Street, left on Route 51 south and right onto the ramp to northbound I-79. The work is part of the $44 million project in the area known as the “S-Bend” that includes pavement reconstruction and bridge preservation on five structures on the interstate (both directions on I-79 over Clever Road and Route 51 and the Neville Island Bridge).
- McKees Rocks Bridge – The next phase of the $38.6 million rehabilitation of the bridge will begin at 6 a.m. Monday with period stoppages of 15 minutes or less through 6 a.m. Saturday while workers paint new lines and place barriers to shift traffic. Starting at 7 p.m. Monday, traffic will shift from the inside lanes to the outside lanes. Flaggers will help motorists drive through the area. The shift will last until early June so the pavement can be replaced. In addition, the bridge will be closed to all traffic from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday for the installation of new overhead signs. A flagger will be stationed on the on-ramp from Helen Street to allow emergency vehicles and Pittsburgh Regional Transit buses onto the bridge as needed.
- Parkway East – The outbound ramp to the Parkway East from Beechwood Boulevard will be closed from 6 to 9 a.m. Saturday while Duquesne Light Co. replaces utility poles. The posted detour recommends drivers from Beechwood take the inbound ramp to the Parkway East, get off at the Glenwood exit, turn right on Bates Street and turn left to get on the outbound Parkway East. Also, there will be intermittent traffic stoppages of 15 minutes or less in both directions beginning Monday between the Business Route 22 interchange in Wilkins and the Route 48 South exit in Monroeville. Crews will use the stoppages to conduct bridge jacking operations and install temporary support for bearing replacement work. This is part of the $70.1 million rehabilitation of the highway between Churchill and Monroeville.
- Lebanon Church Road – One lane will be closed in each direction beginning at 7 a.m. Saturday in West Mifflin and Pleasant Hills between Ceco Drive and Route 51. Through May, crews will be installing storm drains in the median. The work is part of a $28.2 million project to upgrade the road between Broughton Road in South Park Township and Ceco Drive in West Mifflin through summer 2027.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.