The E-Z Pass express lanes at the Warrendale tll plaza on the Pennsylvania Turnpike will be closed from 7 p.m. Tuesday through 6 a.m. May 1 to upgrade the overhead electronic tolling equipment.

Motorists who use the E-Z Pass system still will be able to use the regular E-Z Pass lanes to the right of the express lanes. The turnpike warned that drivers could face traveld elays during peak periods.

The 12-day closure could be extended if weather interferes with construction.

Also, motorists are reminded there’s a new traffic configuration along southbound (inbound) Interstate 279/Parkway North as part of an $87.9 million improvement project along a 8.5-mile stretch between Camp Horne Road and the the Fort Duquesne Bridge.

▪ Just north of the Camp Horne Road exit, the left-hand lane of southbound (inbound) I-279 will be crossed over into the northbound (outbound) lanes. This lane is the EXPRESS lane. All traffic using this lane will not have access to the Camp Horne Road (Exit 8) Bellevue/West View (Exit 7) and the Perrysville Avenue (Exit 5) interchanges.

▪ The right-hand lane of southbound (inbound) I-279 will remain in place. This is the LOCAL lane. All access to the Camp Horne Road, Bellevue/West View, and Perrysville Avenue exits must be made from the local lane.

▪ At the Perrysville Avenue interchange, both southbound I-279 lanes will merge into the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes. No access from the Ross Park and Ride lot to the HOV lanes will be permitted.

▪ South of the McKnight Road interchange, near Venture Street, both southbound I-279 lanes will shift from the HOV lanes back into mainline I-279.

Additional restrictions include:

▪ The southbound ramp from Cemetery Lane at the Perrysville Avenue interchange to southbound I-279 will close to traffic through early September.

▪ The inbound McKnight Road HOV ramp will close to traffic. The ramp from southbound McKnight Road to southbound I-279 will remain open during the initial phase of work.

▪ The Venture Street off-ramp will be closed through early September. However, the Venture Street on-ramp to southbound I-279 will remain open.

▪ The HOV lanes south of the Venture Street area, including access to and from the Bedford Avenue, Anderson Street, and Stadium Drive ramps, will remain closed during this initial phase of work. No HOV access in the northbound direction will occur.

▪ Work on southbound I-279 south of Venture Street will require traffic to be restricted to a single-lane during certain weeknights and weekends. Additional schedule information will be provided weekly as the project progresses.

Other traffic restrictions:

Liberty Bridge/Tunnels — Weekday lane restrictions on the bridge as crews continue to work on bridge reconstruction and steel repairs:

▪ Two inbound lanes and one outbound open from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m.; one inbound and two outbound lanes from 2 to 7 p.m.; and one lane in each direction from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.

▪ Liberty Bridge ramps to and from the Boulevard of the Allies will remain closed through June.

▪ Also, the Boulevard of the Allies between Grant Street and the Liberty Bridge is closed through June for deck reconstruction, steel repairs and painting operations.

▪ The ramp from I-579 (Crosstown Boulevard) to the Boulevard of the Allies closed through April 11 for expansion dam replacement and deck milling operations.

Detours are posted.

Roberto Clemente Bridge (Sixth Street Bridge) — The bridge will be closed on some Fridays to accommodate Pirates games:

▪ Fridays, April 21-May 19 — The bridge will remain open to vehicular traffic.

▪ Fridays, May 26-Sept. 22 – On game days, the bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic starting at 2 p.m., and it will reopen to vehicular traffic one hour after the end of each game.

• Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays – On game days, the bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic at various times requested by the Pirates, and it will reopen to vehicular traffic one hour after the end of each game.

• Sidewalks on the Roberto Clemente and Rachel Carson bridges will be open for all games.

Liberty Interchange (Routes 51 and 19) — Overnight closures as part of a $4.3 million improvement project of the south portal of the Liberty Tunnel at Route 51 (Saw Mill Run Boulevard) and Route 19 (West Liberty Avenue) interchange. Work will occur weeknights from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. and on weekends from 8 p.m. Friday night continuously through 5 a.m. Monday morning, through July, in the following locations:

▪ Route 51 between Bausman Street and Crane Avenue

▪ Route 19 between Pioneer Avenue and the Liberty Tunnel

• Also, work will occur on bridges carrying Route 51 over Route 19 through April. A crossover takes southbound Route 51 traffic over the northbound Route 51 bridge. Northbound Route 51 traffic will be required to take the ramp to the Liberty Tunnel, continue straight across Route 19 to re-enter northbound Route 51. Gulisek Construction is the prime contractor.

Wabash Tunnel — Inbound tunnel will be open at 5 a.m. weekdays and just after 2:30 p.m. for outbound motorists to help ease congestion caused by the Liberty Bridge construction projects. HOV vehicle occupancy restrictions will be lifted during the extended hours of operation.

Interstate 376/Moon, Findlay — Intermittent single-lane restrictions eastbound (inbound) between Beaver County line and the McClaren Road (Exit 56) interchange, weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. westbound and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastbound as crews from Swank Construction begin median crossover work as part of the $66.3 million reconstruction project.

▪ Also, intermittent single-lane restrictions on westbound I-376 between Business Loop 376 and Toll Road 576 will occur as needed weeknights from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. through early May. Crews from Golden Triangle will conduct median widening work.

Route 65/Ohio River Boulevard -— PennDOT has announced long-term lane restrictions on northbound Route 65/Ohio River Boulevard as part of a $25.3 million improvement project:

▪ A lane will be closed from Fort Duquesne Bridge to the West End Bridge and from West End Bridge to the McKees Rocks Bridge. Around-the-clock closure lasts through Sept. 7. Two 11-foot lanes will be maintained. Work will include concrete patching, an asphalt overlay, bridge reconstruction, base repairs, drainage and guide rail updates, new signs, retaining wall repairs and pavement-marking installation.

▪ Single lane overnight in both directions between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday nights for milling and resurfacing activities.

Brown Road, Pine Township — Closed between Pineview Drive and Reynolds Road beginning Monday, April 17 to repair a landslide. Traffic will be detoured via Pearce Mill Road, Wexford Road and Perry Highway.

Streets Run Road, Whitehall — Single-lane alternating traffic weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. between Brownsville Road and Flamingo Drive, through April 21. Crews from Golden Triangle Construction are making trench repairs and conducting milling and resurfacing operations.

Neville Township — Lane closures for installation of bike lanes along Neville Road and Grand Avenue, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, through mid-May.

• The $600,000 project will provide five miles of shared and dedicated bike lanes between the Coraopolis Bridge and Fleming Park Bridge, providing a link between Downtown Pittsburgh and the Montour Trail.

• Interstate 79, Butler County — Preparation work underway for a $16.7 million paving project. Northbound traffic will be restricted to one lane in a 9-mile area from north of the Cranberry interchange to south of the Zelienople interchange. In early May work then shifts to the southbound lanes in the same area of Jackson and Cranberry through mid-June.

• Once the preparatory work is done, crews will begin repaving which will close one lane in each direction during off-peak hours, between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. daily with two exceptions. On Fridays, work in the northbound lanes will start at 9 p.m. and on Sundays work in the southbound lanes will be start at 9 p.m., through October.

Braddock Avenue/Hamilton Avenue, Homewood — Traffic signal replacement project will cause lane closures and short-term detours through June, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

Warrendale Bayne Road, Marshall — Lane closures as part of a $1.28 million road improvement project will last through October:

• Intermittent single-lane alternating traffic will occur as needed on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and weeknights from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. as crews conduct the work at intersection with Brush Creek Road/southbound I-79 on-ramp, and at intersection with Innovation Drive. A single lane in each direction will be maintained during peak travel times. The southbound I-79 ramp will remain open during construction. Crews from Frank J. Zottola Construction, Inc. will conduct roadway widening, milling and paving, drainage improvements, sidewalk improvements, signal upgrades and pavement marking installation.

Glenwood Bridge — The next phase of the $17 million Glenwood Bridge interchange rehabilitation project involves the following restrictions:

▪ Around-the-clock single-lane restriction through November in each direction of Route 885 for bridge work over the northbound Route 837 ramp to southbound Route 885. One lane of Route 885 will remain open in each direction.

▪ Southbound Route 837 ramp to northbound Route 885 will be closed to traffic around-the-clock through late July. Traffic will be detoured.

▪ Around-the-clock single-lane closure on northbound Route 885 in the area of the closed southbound Route 837 ramp to northbound Route 885, through November. One lane will remain open on northbound Route 885.

▪ Weeknight closures of southbound Route 837 to southbound Route 885 and Glass Run Road through March 17.

▪ Route 837 traffic to southbound Route 885 will detoured at the Hot Metal Bridge, but southbound Route 837 traffic may continue to Becks Run Road.

▪ Also, four weekend closures will occur. PennDOT says more information will be provided once the closures are scheduled.

Route 19/Cochran Road, Mt. Lebanon — Single-lane alternating traffic between Beverly Road and Washington Road from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays through April 28. Crews from Lindy Paving continuing work on $2.79 million improvement project.

Indiana Township -—Little Deer Creek Valley Road closed for slide remediation work through May 6, between Krnyevich Lane and Lefever Hill Road/Log Cabin Road.

Franklin Park — Big Sewickley Creek Road Bridge closed for deck replacement between Rochester Road and Warrendale Bayne Road. Around-the-clock closure through April 27. Traffic detours are posted.

North Versailles — East Pittsburgh McKeesport Boulevard lane closures between Westinghouse Street and Maryland Avenue, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through April 28.

Clifton Road, Bethel Park — Gas line work will restrict the road to single-lane, alternating traffic between Kings School Road and Brush Run Road from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays through Aug. 15. Also single-lane alternating traffic on Irishtown Road/Braun Road during the same period.

Gilkeson Road, Mt. Lebanon — Gas line work causing single-lane restrictions between Route 19 and Old Gilkeson Road from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays through April 28. One lane in each direction will be maintained at all times. Crews from M. O’Herron Co. will conduct the work.

Andy Warhol Bridge — Closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic through November as part of $25.4 million rehabilitation project. The Rachel Carson Bridge (9th Street) will be used as a detour. The detour also will reroute about 350 Port Authority buses a day to Carson, according to the Port Authority. The detoured routes will be routes 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 and the O5. The Carson Bridge is expected to be rehabbed in 2018 and the Clemente Bridge in 2020.

East Pennview Street, Shaler — Closed for bridge replacement. Pine Creek Bridge No. 11, about a quarter mile west of the intersection of Pennview and Route 8, through the spring.

Route 356/Garvers Ferry Rd, Allegheny Township in Westmoreland County — Lane closures from Route 356 and White Cloud Road/Sara Lane to Route 356 and Club House Drive/River Landing Drive, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through May 12.

Travel tools:

Pa. Turnpike — For conditions on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, check out www.paturnpike.com and check the “Current Alerts” ticker at the top for restrictions.

511PAConnect — Provides information updates to motorists via automated phone or text message in the event of a long-term road closure due to accidents on the Pennsylvania Turnpike or other state roadways. Only activated during prolonged, emergency roadway stoppages that are expected to last four or more hours. Also gives emergency crews a clearer picture of who is in a trapped vehicle and where they are, so agencies can better plan use of resources.

Affected travelers will be instructed to visit 511PAConnect.com to register for closure updates by providing their phone number and other information such as the type of vehicle and number of occupants.

First Published: April 18, 2017, 10:10 a.m.
Updated: April 18, 2017, 9:30 p.m.