Roadwork: Traffic pattern changes at Pittsburgh’s Armstrong Tunnel

Allegheny County switched the open side of the Armstrong Tunnel from the inbound to the outbound direction Thursday so crews can finish the last few weeks of a $13.1 million project to rehabilitate the tunnel between Forbes and Second avenues in Pittsburgh’s Uptown neighborhood.

Mosites Construction Co. will do some final work on the inbound side, including additional roadwork, before the tunnel resumes operation for vehicles on both sides sometime next month. The pedestrian sidewalk on the outbound side has been made 2½ feet wider, but it will remain closed through September because Duquesne University is making repairs to the nearby pedestrian bridge to Fisher Hall on Forbes Avenue.

The project began in March 2023, when the inbound tunnel was closed for the first time while crews installed new lights, white stainless-steel panels on the side, a new electrical system with closed-circuit cameras and a fiber-optic heat detection system to detect problems such as crashes or fires. Work switched to the outbound side in April 2024.

Now, the inbound side is closed again for finishing work.

When the project is completed, the tunnel will be reduced to one 12-foot lane of traffic in each direction with wider shoulders. The roadway widens at each end with a left turn lane and a straight/right turn lane.

A detour will be posted.

Other weekend work

• McKees Rocks Bridge – All of the restrictions at the Route 65/Ohio River Boulevard end of the bridge ended Thursday. There had been restrictions in that area since March 31 so crews could work in the center lane of the bridge. The long-term lane restriction on the bridge will remain in place through early June as part of the $38.6 million preservation project on the bridge that crosses the Ohio River to Route 51. The entire project should finish in the fall.
• Allegheny River Boulevard – The road will be closed from 7 a.m. Saturday until 6 p.m. Sunday from Washington Road to Sandy Creek Road. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation crews will be tarring and chipping the road surface and painting new lines on it. The same corridor is expected to be closed the following weekend as well. Detours will be posted. PennDOT regularly uses tarring and chipping to seal asphalt road surfaces to prevent water from getting into cracks, extending the life of the surface.
• Parkway East 1 – The inbound side of the highway will be reduced to one lane between Penn Hills and Churchill exits from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday while crews mill, pave and paint lines on the roadway. The work is part of the $70.1 million project to improve 4.1 miles of the highway between Churchill and Route 48 in Monroeville.
• Parkway East 2 – The inbound shoulder will be closed between the Edgewood/Swissvale exit and the Squirrel Hill Tunnel from 6 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday while crews begin work to relocate a detection system for over-height trucks. The work is part of the $95 million project to replace the Commercial Street Bridge that is just beyond the outbound tunnel.
• Interstate 79 – Lane restrictions will be in place this weekend between the Neville Island Bridge and the Route 51/Coraopolis/McKees Rocks interchange. The work will take place from 7 p.m. Friday through 11 a.m. Saturday, 5 p.m. Saturday through 11 a.m. Sunday and, if needed, 5 p.m. Sunday through 6 a.m. Monday. The work is part of the $43.9 million project to reconstruct the highway in Kennedy, Robinson and Neville, plus milling and paving three ramps at the interchange.