'Think About Rerouting': With 2 Festivals This Weekend, Traffic Will Be Impacted

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- There is no question this is going to be a massive weekend in Pittsburgh.

We Are One Pittsburgh Pride 2019 is expected to bring more than 150,000 people into town and the Three Rivers Arts Festival will draw another 220-to-225,000. So getting around will require some advance planning -- beginning with Friday morning's rush hour.

KDKA's Rachele Mongiovi Reports:

While roads around Gateway Center will be restricted or closed overnight by the rush hour Friday morning, only Commonwealth Place will be restricted.

But, Sarah Aziz of the Arts Festival says, "There is one lane open so the folks in Gateway can get in and out. We keep that open throughout the festival." As for everyone else -- "I would think about rerouting for sure," she says.

Rerouting will be your only option if you use Fort Duquesne Boulevard. "At 8 o'clock tonight, Ft. Duquesne Boulevard will close from Seventh to Ninth and Ninth from Penn to Ft Duquesne Blvd," says Chris Bryan of the Delta Foundation of Pittsburgh.

She says those roads need to close so they can get ready for the Pittsburgh Pride 2019 activities. "It will be a hub of activity. We have tents and stages being erected," Bryan explains.

Walk the Moon will be performing on the stage at Ninth and Ft. Duquesne Boulevard Friday night and Toni Braxton Saturday night.

So Friday morning commuters coming east on Ft Duquesne Boulevard with only be able to turn right on Seventh or left on to the Warhol Bridge. But that left onto the bridge will end at 8 p.m. Friday when the bridge closes for more Pride setup.

KDKA's Lindsay Ward Reports:

Bryan says, "We have 100 vendors that will stage on the Andy Warhol Bridge as well as a stage that will be on Isabella Street on the north side providing music all day Saturday and Sunday."

Also tomorrow night, the section of Penn Avenue and Liberty Avenue from Stanwix to Commonwealth will close for Arts Festival set up and activities for the weekend.

Then on Sunday, there is the Equality March through Downtown. "It stages on the Boulevard of the Allies, starts at 12:30 sharp, with a rolling closure to Grant Street, to Fifth Avenue to Liberty Avenue," Bryan says.

The closures will start around 11 a.m. Sunday and everything should be reopened by 2:30 or 3:00 p.m.

Expect security throughout downtown to be tight for all the events. Bryan says that "both uniformed and undercover police officers as well as security throughout the weekend," will be on duty.

Except for Commonwealth Place, all the roads should return to normal by the Monday morning rush hour.