For years, the inbound Parkway West has been considered among the most congested traffic bottlenecks in the country, and it regularly gets poor marks for safety due to the too-close-to-each-other entrance and exit ramps near the Fort Pitt Tunnel.
That should change over the next 15 years as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation rolls out three major projects between Interstate 79 and the tunnel to ease congestion and separate ramps to improve safety. The agency plans to begin a multiyear project in 2026 at the Banksville interchange closest to the tunnel, will unveil its concept this week for rebuilding the Green Tree interchange and is in the early stages of plans for revamping the Carnegie interchange.
The first project, from just west of the Parkway Center interchange, is designed to eliminate the weaving of traffic trying to get on the highway from Banksville Road to enter the tunnel or wanting to exit to Route 51/Saw Mill Run Boulevard before the tunnel. It will create an inbound lane starting about 1,600 feet from Parkway Center that will exit onto a new ramp to carry traffic to Route 51.
Traffic from Banksville to the tunnel will be separated by a median until the merge point. There also will be a new slip ramp from Banksville to Route 51.
On the outbound side, a second lane will be added to the Banksville ramp and a fourth lane will be added on the highway to Parkway Center.
Work on that project should start in fall 2026 and take three years to complete.
Once that is done, work at the Green Tree interchange should be ready to begin. PennDOT will reveal its proposed redesign at an informational meeting at the Green Tree Borough Municipal Center, 10 West Manilla Ave.
Anthony Annett, PennDOT’s senior project manager overseeing the Green Tree project, said this work is part of goal to “improve the overall operation and safety of the corridor.” Currently, it is a very tight interchange at Greentree Road complicated by another busy road, Poplar Street, nearby.
“It is a little bit of a challenge,” Annett said. “Right now, these ramps are really close together. We think the proposed concept we have will address that.”
Annett said this is “a pretty straight-forward” project and the department has settled on the proposed realignment that will be presented Wednesday. Still, he wants to hear concerns the public has or potential complications the agency hasn’t considered.
The project is still in design, but the agency expects it will cost about $100 million and be ready for construction in 2029. Annett said a small amount of property might be needed for this project.
The Carnegie interchange project is still in early development and will follow the work at Green Tree.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.