Project At Crosstown Boulevard May Cause Traffic Nightmares
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A major road project is about to get underway and it will be affecting traffic for more than a year.
On the Mon River side of the Crosstown, two ramps will close.
"That essentially connect the Boulevard of the Allies and the Liberty Bridge to Crosstown Boulevard," said PennDOT spokesperson Jim Struzzi.
So coming off the Boulevard of the Allies, the ramp to the right will close, and so will the ramp coming off the Liberty Bridge that sends you to the Veterans Bridge and points north.
The good news is that those closures are only for the weekend.
"It's going to begin at 8 p.m. tonight and continue until 5 a.m. Monday morning," said Struzzi.
The bigger disruption is in the heart of the Crosstown.
"There's actually two side-by-side bridges there," Struzzi says. "One essentially connects Seventh Avenue to Washington Place, and the other connects 6th Avenue to Bedford Avenue."
The Bedford Avenue Bridge is the main connector for traffic arriving from the Veterans Bridge and heading for Bigelow Boulevard, the arena, Duquesne University and Mercy Hospital.
"Obviously, it's going to be an impact for people, especially people coming in for the morning commute," Struzzi added.
While the Seventh Avenue ramp is a major downtown afternoon escape route, both bridges close at 5 a.m. Saturday, and PennDOT officials say the closures will continue until October.
That will detour all traffic over to the two lane Centre Avenue Bridge right through the summer concerts at CONSOL Energy Center and into the hockey season.
"They are heavily traveled bridges and we do encourage people to be ready come Monday morning to add additional time to their commutes," said Struzzi.
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