Here's how you can get around this weekend's closure of Route 51 in Jefferson Hills
JEFFERSON HILLS, Pa. (KDKA) -- Starting tonight, a busy little stretch of Route 51 in Jefferson Hills is going to be shut down for the weekend. Here's some help getting around the closure.
Route 51 is being closed between Peters Creek Road and Worthington Avenue so that bridge beams can be installed to the Mon-Fayette Expressway that sits high above the roadway.
"It's a big feat to try to get those bridge beams in place and protect our workers as well as drivers," said Mon-Fayette Expressway spokesperson Renee Vid Colburn. "That's why we are closing the roadway."
The short stretch of road will be closed all weekend and the detour around it is significant.
"It's going to be nearly a 15 mile detour to get around that closure," Colburn said.
That detour takes you off of Route 51 using Route 885 and Route 837 through Clairton.
"We needed to have a detour route posted that would accommodate all vehicles," Colburn said.
An easier detour for normal vehicles
If you're not driving a truck, there's another way.
When traveling north on Route 51 out of Elizabeth, you can exit at Ridge Road.
Making a left turn on Ridge Road will take you to Gill Hall Road and from there, you can make a right turn onto Peters Creek Road and go under the Mon-Fayette Expressway.
Continuing down Peters Creek Road will bring you to Large, where you can turn right onto Oak and back onto Route 51 on the other side of the closure.
The easier detour route is for passenger vehicles only, meaning no trucks.
The closure is expected to be lifted ahead of the morning rush hour on Monday.
