Traffic disruptions expected throughout Pittsburgh area as several PennDOT projects getting underway
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- With Labor Day in the rear view mirror, PennDOT is launching some significant projects this week.
From closed ramps to closed roads, KDKA's John Shumway has the rundown of when and where the work will be taking place.
With recent rain only serving to make slide repair work on Saltsburg Road in Penn Hills even more urgent, crews will close the road between Sycamore Drive and the intersection of Frankstown Road and Hulton Road on Tuesday morning.
There will be an around-the-clock closure through late September, with traffic being detoured to Lime Hollow Road and Sandy Creek.
PennDOT will also be launching the next phase of the Rt. 837 remake in West Homestead on Tuesday morning. PennDOT was going to use West 8th Avenue as the detour, but scrapped that idea due to some safety concerns that were brought forth by the borough.
"A big part of the problem is trucks that there is a separate truck detour but they're ignoring it and they're, they're going down through there and there's people that live along there," said Jason Zang, Assistant District Executive with PennDOT.
Zang says that in the interest of residential safety, PennDOT has decided that the best thing to do would be to close the roadway again and put the detour back in place, as it was in July.
Crews will be closing the roadway Tuesday morning and shutting it down to all traffic through early October -- with drivers being detoured through Hazelwood.
That detour will take traffic to Browns Hill Road and to the Homestead Grays Bridge, a lengthy detour in itself.
Drivers on Pittsburgh's South Side will also be seeing an impact from a project, as well.
For a couple of years, through the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, PennDOT has been giving East Carson Street a facelift and safety improvements from 10th Street towards South Side Works.
"It's a huge project and we're finally getting to the end of it here," Zang said.
The end of the work will be a relief to drivers and businesses, as Zang says it's been challenging with all of the traffic in the area.
The last part of the job that needs done is the paving, which will be from the Hot Metal Bridge all the way to South 33rd Street.
Workers were initially going to be doing this work during night hours, but PennDOT will be moving to daylight hours starting on Tuesday, citing worker safety.
"Originally were doing this work at night and that was the plan was to do it at night but unfortunately our contractors, employees, our team down there was getting harassed by the public. They're getting things thrown at them actually, somebody got shot by a BB gun," Zang said.
Avoiding the area during the morning rush hour is recommended, but the good news is that the work will be finished by Saturday.
Single-lane restrictions will be in place from 5 a.m. through 4 p.m., daily.
Meanwhile, on McKnight Road, PennDOT is closing two major ramps through late September.
The ramp from the northbound lanes of McKnight Road to Babcock Boulevard and the ramp from Babcock Boulevard to the southbound lanes of McKnight Road will be closing at 7 a.m. on Tuesday.
They are both being closed so that crews can put netting under the McKnight Road Bridge due to cracking and crumbling concerns.
That bridge goes over Babcock Boulevard and so far, the situation hasn't gotten serious enough to close Babcock Boulevard. PennDOT is expected to know more about the repairs that the bridge will need after the ramps are closed on Tuesday. They're expected to be closed for a couple of weeks.
