What construction projects can Pittsburgh-area drivers expect this year?
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- PennDOT said hundreds of millions of dollars will be poured into our roads, bridges and tunnels this year. Some of that includes projects on some of our major arteries.
In all more than $480 million is planned out for projects in District 11, which includes Allegheny, Beaver and part of Lawrence County.
On Route 28, $4 million will go to prevent people getting on the highway the wrong way between the city and Route 910 in Harmar. They'll work similarly to the signals on the HOV lanes on the Parkway North.
"We want to give people more information to maybe be able to avert another crash," PennDOT District 11 Traffic Engineer Stephanie Zolnak said.
Staying on Route 28, PennDOT will finish up highway restoration between Harmarville and Russelton. It ends the years of work on the road.
"This is the last of many, many impactful projects on Route 28 for at least a couple years," PennDOT District 11 Executive Jason Zang said.
Now these next few are going to be big. Starting Monday night, PennDOT will have single lane restrictions from Churchill to Monroeville on the Parkway East. It's part of a $70 million project to preserve the road and address eight bridges in the stretch.
"A lot of that work is done at night. We're going to be maintaining two lanes of traffic," Zang said.
Staying on the Parkway East, we will see the beginning of the Commercial Street Bridge construction right before the Squirrel Hill Tunnel if you're going inbound. The budgeted project of about $100 million will have the new bridge built next to the existing one and then slid into place. Part of this project will involve a closure at the Wilkinsburg interchange for more than a month this summer. The Commercial Street bridge won't close until 2026.
"It's very important work. It's critical work. Every time we do a project, not only are we renewing the pavement or concrete, we are also making safety enhancements," Zang said.
I-79 will see one project end with the completion of work from the Neville Island Bridge to the split with the Parkway North, but another phase will continue with the S-bends to the south of the bridge.
"Last year we had a crossover. We will be doing the same thing again. It will basically be the opposite. Northbound traffic will be crossing over to the southbound," Zang said.
Of course, work continues on McKnight Road throughout the rest of the year as crews do milling and paving and drainage upgrades.
