Years in the making: Southern Beltway finally completed
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A major milestone has been reached on one of the biggest road construction projects in our region in the past two decades.
The Southern Beltway that connects Pittsburgh International Airport to Interstate 79 is wrapping up construction.
It's a relief for the thousands of drivers who have been delayed so often in the construction on the Washington-Allegheny County line.
The visual of the nearly spotless concrete says it all - as of Thursday, I-79 through the beltway project area was open to traffic in all lanes.
"It's a brand new roadway," said Renee Vid Colburn of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. "It'll have a third lane in some sections, so yeah, that was a big project and now it's all coming to an end, so it's good to see."
There will still be evidence of the construction around for a bit, like those channelizers.
"That will be along the shoulder - all that still needs to be picked up and taken out, but that should all be completed by the end of next week," she said.
But - and isn't there always a but? There is still a bit of overnight work to be done.
"They'll be doing the asphalt overlay on the northbound and southbound lanes, but it's the southern end of the project which is past Southpointe," Colburn explained.
So, in other words, they'll finish that coating during the lightest traffic time.
"Between today and toward the end of next week, drivers will see overnight single-lane restrictions between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. to finish up the work," she said.
Once you hit Southpointe, it will be wide-open, brand-new highway.
And the long-term goal of the Southern Beltway is to eventually cut across Washington County and connect to the Mon-Fayette Expressway, but you'll be getting those reports much further in the future, possibly from John Shumway III, who is currently 4-years-old.