Parkway East to officially reopen Monday evening, officials say

The Parkway East will officially reopen on Monday, July 27, PennDOT officials have confirmed to KDKA-TV.

The announcement comes as workers successfully replaced the Commercial Street Bridge outside of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel early last week. 

The opening is ahead of schedule after crews demolished the old Commercial Street Bridge and began sliding the new 22-million-pound bridge into place. The bridge was fully moved into place on July 20.

A press conference is scheduled for Monday, where officials are expected to share more information. The exact time of the reopening is not yet known.

The closure was initially expected to last 25 days, with a tentative reopening date of Aug. 3. If contractors got the Parkway reopened before 12:01 a.m. on July 28, they were slated to receive a $2 million bonus.

"We will have completed this project and opened the Parkway in less than three weeks," Carroll said last week. "I am not a civil engineer, but you don't have to be one to appreciate what has already been accomplished here," Carroll said.

The Parkway East has been closed between the Edgewood/Swissvale and Squirrel Hill interchanges during all this work, including the demolition of the old bridge.

While the closure is in effect, traffic is being detoured via multiple routes, and so far, the traffic impacts have remained minimal. The closure impacts a section of the Parkway that sees about 100,000 cars a day.

As for Commercial Street itself, that is not expected to open early. PennDOT hopes to get that connector cleared up and opened by Aug. 3.