PennDOT Studying Mobility, Safety Along Parkway East
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Parkway East from Churchill to Monroeville is a commuter's dream.
But from Churchill to the city, it is one of Pittsburgh's most frustrating, irritating, aggravating ribbons on asphalt.
So PennDOT is asking, "What can we do to improve mobility and safety along the Parkway East?"
Now, before you get too excited," PennDOT's Dan Cessna says, "We don't have expectations to come out of this as a mega-capacity project to, say, build a new tunnel or something like that."
Instead, this is a broader look at the entire Parkway East system.
"It could be intersection enhancements on roads that support the Parkway East, or actually interchange enhancements along the Parkway East.
A case in point, the Edgewood-Swissvale entrance to the eastbound Parkway, drivers have to be Jeff Gordon coming out of the pit at Talladega to merge into traffic, and often it's less than graceful.
"We have a lot of challenges with weave conditions and the acceleration and decelerations lanes.
So, PennDOT's consultant is watching it all.
"The purpose of this study is to prioritize improvements so there are things we could do in the short term that could derive a short term improvement for the motorists," Cessna says.
Of course, any improvement requires funding and that's a different can of worms.
It could be a while before anything that comes from this study actually becomes a road project, but there is one bit of good news about the Parkway East.
Cessna says the work they've already completed on the Squirrel Hill Tunnel indicates they will not have to turn around as many trucks laden with snow this winter and that should improve the flow of traffic.
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