All-day lane restrictions that begin this week on the Parkway East highlight construction activity on local roads. Here’s what to expect:
- Parkway East 1 – Work on the $70.1 million project to upgrade the highway between Churchill and Monroeville will kick into high gear Monday with a single lane closed in each direction all day and a second lane closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily through early August. The restrictions will allow crews to do bridge deck work and drainage inspections. Additional work under the contract for this project will include single-lane closures beginning at 9 p.m. Monday between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and the Birmingham Bridge. Work there will include improvements to concrete decks approach slabs, asphalt and median. Crews will work from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday for several weeks, but the exact schedule will be announced each week.
- Parkway East 2 – Retaining wall work will cause the closure of the right outbound lane and shoulder of the highway just outside the suburban end of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel from 3 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday this week. The outbound entrance ramp at Beechwood Boulevard also will be closed. The work is part of the $95 million project to replace the Commercial Street Bridge.
- Route 51 – Single-lane alternating traffic will occur at Ewing Road from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday this week. The restriction will allow crews to pave the road and finish slide remediation work at that location.
- West End Bridge – Bridge inspection will cause a single-lane restriction from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday this week. Traffic will be maintained in both directions during the work.
- Route 28 – Crews will continue installing conduit for the wrong-way detection system from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The work will be at four sites at Exit 8 — the northbound off-ramp to Fox Chapel Road-Waterworks Drive-Freeport Road; the Fox Chapel Road ramp; and the Waterworks Drive-Freeport Road ramp; and the southbound off-ramp to Fox Chapel Road — as well as the southbound off-ramp to Route 910-Pennsylvania Turnpike. All ramps will remain open. Also, stoppages of up to 15 minutes will take place from 8 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday while crews test the detection system at the RIDC Park interchange. The $4.8 million system, which will warn drivers and alert state police when drivers go the wrong way between Pittsburgh’s North Side and Harmar, is expected to open early next year.
- Coxcomb Hill, Logans Ferry roads – Evening and overnight work will begin on both roads in Plum Monday evening and last through late November, resulting in single-lane alternating traffic. Work will occur on Coxcomb Hill from Hulton Road to Logans Ferry and on Logans Ferry from Coxcomb Hill to Greensburg Road. The work from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. will include repairing the base of the roads, milling and paving, and drainage improvements.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.