Liberty Bridge Deck Replacement Project To Begin Friday
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Another major road construction project is set to begin in Pittsburgh.
Starting at 8 p.m. Friday, PennDOT will close the inbound Liberty Tunnel and inbound side of the Liberty Bridge for the weekend.
One lane outbound will remain on the bridge and the outbound tunnel will remain open.
McArdle Road will be open to get to the outbound Liberty Tunnel.
The weekend closure is needed for PennDOT to reconfigure the bridge for deck replacement work that begins Monday.
The inbound sides of the tunnel and bridge will reopen at 5 a.m. Monday.
"So the tunnel will be completely open as it always is, but when you come out of the tunnel, motorists will be shifted slightly to the left and travel two lanes inbound, and there will be one lane outbound open at that time," said PennDOT District 11 Executive Dan Cessna.
The far right lane will be the first to undergo reconstruction.
"If you normally travel to Oakland or the Parkway East from the Liberty Tunnel that option will no longer exist for basically this entire construction season," Cessna said.
There is an important notice for South Hills commuters. Those that use the bridge and tunnel to get to the Boulevard of the Allies heading to Oakland or the Parkway East, the ramp will be closed.
So, PennDOT recommends heading for the Fort Pitt Tunnel or West End to come into town.
The four-phase deck replacement project is expected to last 160 days. The deck is expected to be replaced one lane at a time.
Cessna says, "Monday is going to be chaotic, there's no way around that, because many people don't prepare for these types of closures."
Due to the lane closures, there will be changes to the traffic configuration three times a day.
- Two inbound (northbound) lanes and one outbound (southbound) lane will be maintained from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. each weekday.
- Two outbound (southbound) lanes and one inbound (northbound) lane will be maintained from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. each weekday.
- A single-lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. each weeknight.
Ramp reconstruction will also begin this year on the inbound side to the Boulevard of the Allies. PennDOT expects the ramp to be closed for 52 days.
The following detour will be in effect:
- Continue inbound (northbound) on the Liberty Bridge past the closed ramp.
- Continue onto the Crosstown Boulevard toward 6th Avenue/Forbes Avenue exit.
- Exit Crosstown Boulevard to 6th Avenue.
- Follow 6th Avenue to Grant Street.
- Turn right onto Grant Street.
- Turn right onto 7th Avenue.
- Exit 7th Avenue to I-579 South/I-376 East toward Monroeville/Liberty Bridge.
- Keep right and take ramp to I-376 East toward Oakland/Monroeville
- Follow ramp onto Boulevard of the Allies
- End detour
All of the work is part of the $80.08 million Liberty Bridge Rehabilitation Project that will be completed in 2018. In addition to the deck replacement, crews will make structural steel repairs, paint the entire structure. Signage improvements and an alternating overhead lane control system will also be installed.
For additional restrictions and a pedestrian detour, visit PennDOT's website here.
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