Construction projects will be done before NFL draft, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership leader says

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to come to Pittsburgh in April for the NFL draft, and there are still plenty of ongoing construction projects.  

On Monday, the NFL Draft clock on the North Shore showed 31 days until the big event. For projects, including ones in Market Square and Art's Landing, it's the hard deadline for when construction must end.

"It may look like there is still a lot of work to be done, but we can 100% guarantee that they will be ready and open for the NFL draft, and then for a whole season chock-full of activities," Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership president and CEO Jeremy Waldrup said on Monday.

The North Shore continues to get ready as well. Tree removal has begun as the NFL gets ready to move in and construct the draft stage.

"The community has rallied around each other in such an exceptional way that we're ready to dot the final Is and cross the final Ts to make sure we're ready to deliver an incredible draft experience," VisitPITTSBURGH president and CEO Jerad Bachar said.

With the hundreds of thousands of people expected to be in town for the event, road closures and getting around will be a challenge. It's expected that the city will release more details on that soon.

"Our updated parking and transportation strategy will be released within the next week," Bachar said.

As for all the construction around town, it's expected that crews will clean up and get it all out of the way in time for the draft.

"This is kind of the night before the big party that you're hosting at your home, where things are a little chaotic. But it's going to come together," Waldrup said.