Road closings were in effect today in the Gateway Center area of Downtown in preparation for the Three Rivers Arts Festival, which had to relocate this year because of renovations to nearby Point State Park.

Liberty Avenue Extension is closed outbound near Fifth Avenue Place, and booths have been erected there. Vehicles headed outbound on Liberty must turn right onto Stanwix Street and then left onto Penn Avenue Extension to continue toward the Fort Pitt Bridge.

As of early this afternoon, no signs alerting motorists to the closing had been posted on Liberty approaching the intersection or at the intersection.

Penn Avenue Extension is down to one lane. Construction vehicles connected with construction of a temporary performance stage are blocking the far left lane, while parked cars are using the far right lane. Even the center lane is blocked for short periods as construction vehicles enter the site.

The crosswalk at the merge point of Liberty and Penn is also blocked.

Penn Avenue Extension and Liberty Avenue Extension in both directions will be closed from 6 p.m. Fridays through Sunday nights during the festival, which begins Friday.