Are you ready to spend a long, hot summer sitting in traffic as a result of major road construction in Allegheny County? Are you prepared to waste gas costing $3.65 or soon who knows how much a gallon?

"Getting Around" has bad news: Get used to it.

Around now, when colleges dismiss for summer and some people jump-start the traditional summer vacation season, traffic generally begins to thin out. By mid-June, commuting becomes significantly faster and more tolerable.

But this year, major construction is taking place on I-79 west of Pittsburgh, on I-376 east of Pittsburgh, on I-579 through the heart of Pittsburgh and, starting May 27, on I-279 north of Pittsburgh.

Almost anywhere you go, PennDOT's gotcha!

Today's column focuses on only two of the new trouble spots, both of which have pushed weekday morning rush hours beyond 10 o'clock.

They're the Parkway West/I-279 heading into the city, and the Parkway East/I-376 heading into Oakland. They're not likely to get much better.

In the west, traffic has been backing up regularly on both sides of Green Tree Hill. Why? PennDOT has closed part of Steuben Street for West End Circle construction, effectively shifting traffic from a "back door" route to the city to the Parkway West.

In the east, traffic has been backing up consistently onto the mainline of the Parkway East outbound, trying to exit to Oakland. Why? PennDOT has restricted Forbes Avenue to one lane into Oakland for Boulevard of the Allies interchange construction, and there's no good alternate route.

Drivers are restless.

When Ron Sommer pulled out of his Green Tree street to drive to work, he merged into a line of traffic behind a Greyhound bus driver trying to avoid the Parkway West.

"Strangulation due to the West End Circle is so severe that traffic is exiting at Carnegie and using local streets to try to bypass the parkway," he said.

For renderings, updates and information on the West End improvements and the other major projects, readers can navigate their way through PennDOT's challenging Web site, www.dot.state.pa.us. Click on "District 11" on the map, then "Roadwork" and then "Featured Construction Projects."

Meanwhile, motorists have described the one-lane restriction on Forbes Avenue leading into Oakland in the morning rush hours as a disaster waiting to happen.

"I have seen many, many instances of near-miss accidents. This is really scary. Is there a plan to remedy this?" said Carol Heape, who commutes to Oakland from Sewickley.

The answer is no.

PennDOT District 11 officials said they've been hearing the same things but, unfortunately, they're unable to offer many good options.

The current West End Circle work requiring a stop-and-go detour through the West End is to remain that way through October, so Parkway West motorists need to prepare for the worst.

PennDOT timed the current phase of work on the Boulevard of the Allies project to coincide with summer vacation at Pitt and Carnegie Mellon to try to minimize public inconvenience.

But the sheer volume of traffic trying to get into Oakland and being funneled into a single lane in the morning has been overwhelming. Although PennDOT has police officers stationed on Forbes Avenue at the end of the exit ramp and at the signal at Craft Avenue, traffic is still backing up onto the Parkway East.

A second lane on Forbes Avenue is to be reopened by mid-August.

Now you know.