Route 88 Reopens Following Lengthy Closure
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - After being closed for five months, Route 88 at the intersection with Route 51 has reopened.
The intersection has been closed since June as part of a nearly $19 million project to ease traffic congestion in the area.
"It was crazy," said one driver of the detour during the closure. "We had to go around the block, go one way, bumper-to-bumper traffic."
For truckers, it was a horrible run.
"Every time we come down this way, we had detours and everything else holding up traffic. Hours and hours of traffic on this road," one trucker said.
For some businesses along Route 88, the construction shut them down.
"A lot of the businesses that were here did not survive the summer," said Beth Cochran, a business owner. "There was a rental store opened at the end that closed. There was another computer store down at the end that didn't make it through construction."
There will still be some upcoming lane restrictions as crews finish up landscaping and sign installation through the end of the year.
The massive project also includes replacing five different bridges and building another one.
When its complete, they hope the 40,000 drivers who use that stretch of road will have a smoother and quicker ride. They also hope there will be fewer accidents and less flooding.
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