Pittsburgh's McArdle Roadway to temporarily close Wednesday
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Every day thousands of people travel on the McArdle Roadway to get across Pittsburgh, but from Wednesday to Sunday, you're going to have to find another route.
The city says the road will close at 5 a.m. Wednesday until 7 p.m. Sunday so crews can remove debris from Mount Washington's hillside.
Lewis Mastrobuono frequently takes the McArdle Roadway to go to and from his home on Mount Washington.
"Probably three to four times a day, between myself and my wife," Mastrobuono said. "Basically to the North Side to get across the bridge and back."
Come Wednesday at 5 a.m., he won't be able to for a few days.
"It will be a little inconvenient because this is the most direct route and theoretically the fastest," Mastrobuono said.
According to the city, the closure will allow a contractor to remove materials and debris that may slide or become problematic from the Mount Washington hillside. It's work crews do every year to get ready for slide season, which comes with the freeze-thaw cycle of late fall and early winter.
Paul Schwartz understands it needs to be done, but he said the detours are not exactly smooth riding.
"It's unfortunate timing," Schwartz said. "The alternative roads will be going down Sycamore Street, which is like a cobblestone street with lots of twists and turns, then trying to come back up and get back on to the Liberty Bridge."
During the closure, two outbound and two inbound lanes will be maintained on the Liberty Bridge. Drivers traveling southbound from the city, from the east and the South Hills can take Saw Mill Run Boulevard and Boggs Avenue as a detour.
In the meantime, folks hope this can also bring awareness to other issues along the road.
"Try to do some remediation with the hillside too. We've lost a lot of our views over time with these invasive species trees," Schwartz said.