PennDOT launches specialized website with drive times for the upcoming Parkway East closure

As PennDOT prepares to close the Parkway East for 25 days so they can replace the Commercial Street Bridge, a specialized website has been launched with drive times on the detour routes.

Starting at 9 p.m. on Friday night, the Parkway East will be closed from the Squirrel Hill interchange to the Edgewood/Swissvale interchange so that crews can demolish and replace the Commercial Street Bridge.

With roughly 100,000 daily drivers in each direction of the Parkway being directed to alternate routes for 25 days, PennDOT says it's launched a new website to help people navigate the detours.

The new website, which is part of PennDOT's 511PA system, will show real-time drive times for each detour route to get people around the closure.

The interactive site lists drive times for:

• the local detour that travels through Swissvale, Rankin, and Homestead
• the interstate detour that travels through Wilkinsburg and Oakland
• the Pennsylvania Turnpike detour that uses Route 28

PennDOT said that it will be using its Western Regional Traffic Management Center to monitor the detour routes around the clock and will be utilizing cameras in the area and throughout the closure to enhance monitoring of current traffic conditions, as well as using message boards to help direct drivers.

PennDOT has recommended carpooling or using public transit to help make commuting less stressful and have also recommended people who have the ability to do so to work remotely during the 25-day closure.

If all goes according to plan, the Parkway East will reopen to traffic on August 3.