PennDOT to step up construction projects on heavily-traveled roads

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The road construction challenges step up a notch this weekend in three heavily traveled areas.

All three of them begin tonight and run until Monday morning.

We're talking the Parkway East, I-79, and McKnight Road so let's start there.

The work on McKnight Road has been progressing quickly with the most lane restrictions, keeping two lanes open. This weekend, that won't be possible as they focus on the bridge over Babcock Boulevard.

"We're doing some repairs to the reinforced concrete beams," explained Doug Thompson of PennDOT District 11. "We have to slide the traffic to the outside lanes in both directions to take traffic off of the beams that we're going to be doing concrete repairs to."

That will leave only one lane available from Nelson Run to Braunlich. PennDOT's District 11 Assistant Director for Construction, Doug Thompson said once all the ongoing median work is finished the attention will turn to the untouched curb lanes.

"We'll be closing those down long-term," he said. "We'll still allow, of course, access to all those businesses that are right there. With them moving, we'll bring all we have [to do] - which is a lot of drainage work to do there. A lot of the curbs get replaced."

Ultimately, the whole project gets another inch and a half of the final asphalt-riding surface.

On Interstate 79, traffic will go to a single lane in each direction over the Parkway West. Drivers will have to be aware that there will not be a lot of room so lanes will feel very narrow. They will be doing concrete overlaying but all the ramps will be open.

Then, on the Parkway East, it will be another squeeze from the Business Route 22 Monroeville Interchange out to the bridge over Old William Penn Highway.

"We'll be closing another lane," said Thompson. "We'll have that just for the weekend. We'll have it down one lane in each direction."

Once that work over William Penn Highway is done, Thompson said they'll be moving back toward Rodi Road and will be doing bridge work in that area.

All the weekend projects will wrap up by Monday morning's rush hour.

PennDOT said they are very aware of how disruptive all this will be which is why they chose to do it on a weekend when the Pirates are out of town as they continue to try to work around events in the city.

One last project to mention - they are also closing the ramp from the Boulevard of the Allies onto the outbound Parkway East. That will happen tonight through Monday morning. The detour is through Oakland to the Bates Street ramp.