If you're driving the Parkway East this weekend, heads up. A section in Pittsburgh and Edgewood will fully close. 

PennDOT on Tuesday announced that I-376 will close in each direction between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and the Edgewood/Swissvale interchange from 9 p.m. Saturday through 5 a.m. Monday. The shutdown will be in place around the clock as crews demolish and replace an overhead sign structure. 

"Given the time of the evening that it's starting, I wouldn't anticipate terrible traffic at that point. I would think the worst is going to be starting midmorning Sunday," said Doug Thompson, PennDOT District 11's assistant district executive for construction.

Parkway East traffic to be detoured

Traffic westbound will be detoured at the Wilkinsburg interchange and traffic eastbound will be detoured through the Forbes Avenue/Oakland exit. The full detours can be found on PennDOT's website. 

"We can't detour down narrow streets or streets that can't accommodate tractor-trailers, so we have to take all that in mind with our detour routes," Thompson said.

The traffic should last through Sunday, but it's still expected to be slower than the 100,000 cars that use the Parkway East each day during the week. This detour serves as a test for when there is a 25-day closure next year with the Commercial Street Bridge work.

"Any sort of particular areas that really are congested, we're definitely going to take a hard look at those and try to improve things for that 25-day closure next year, without a doubt," Thompson said.

If the work gets done quicker than expected, PennDOT says it will reopen the Parkway earlier.

Work part of $95 million project

The work, which began last summer, is part of a $95 million project to replace the Commercial Street Bridge between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and the Edgewood/Swissvale interchange. PennDOT said it'll be one of the largest lateral slide projects performed in Pennsylvania. 

Last year, crews temporarily relocated Commercial Street and the Nine Mile Run Trail below the bridge and moved sanitary sewer lines. This year's work includes installing new sign structures and piers, abutments and piles. Crews will need multiple closures to perform the work, including a 25-day full closure and detour in 2026. 

The project is expected to be complete in the summer of 2027. 

PennDOT has created an email distribution list for Parkway East traffic advisories and construction updates so drivers can stay informed. People who want to join the list can email ymanyisha@pa.gov with the subject line "Subscribe – Parkway East." Updates can also be found online.