PennDOT To Close Part Of The Parkway East For Construction
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A big closure is on the way for the Parkway East.
It's the first big closure of the construction season, as PennDOT told KDKA's John Shumway they'll be doing the work next weekend.
"We look for a weekend where we don't have an event," says Jason Zang – PennDOT District 11 Asst. Executive for Construction and he added, "we don't have a concert, a Pirate game, a Penguins game, a Steelers game or rain."
That means they'll be shutting down part of the Parkway East beginning on Friday, June 14, through Sunday, June 16.
"We'll start restricting the traffic at 7 p.m., and at 9 p.m. we'll close off all traffic on the inbound side," said Zang.
PennDOT says the highway will be shut down inbound from Wilkinsburg to the Boulevard of the Allies.
Swank Construction will be replacing the expansion dams, those metal strips that allow for expansion and contraction, that run all the way across the road. In order to do so, no traffic can be on the road when they are being replaced.
With the work stretching all weekend and into Monday morning at 5 a.m., trucks are going to be forced off at Wilkinsburg.
All other traffic will exit at Edgewood/Swissvale and take Braddock Avenue to Penn Avenue, then left to Fifth Avenue and left through the heart of Oakland before going back to the parkway.
Zang says, "We will have police officers stationed in various areas to help traffic flow keep it moving."
Two weeks later, PennDOT says they will be shutting down the outbound side. The closure will begin on Friday, June 28 through Sunday, June 30.
Stay with KDKA for the latest on this developing story.
