Commuters heading into Pittsburgh via the Parkway North are experiencing changes in their usual routes today. According to WTAE, the alterations are due to repairs on the concrete piers of the Veterans Bridge. These adjustments include a crossover into the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes near the Swindell Bridge.
The situation presented by the new traffic pattern demands attention and possibly a recalibration of one's navigational instincts. As Audacy noted, "You have to be in the left lane, southbound, to take the new crossover into the HOV lanes, which was just build over the weekend." Missing this crossover will reroute drivers toward the North Shore/Fort Duquesne/Fort Pitt Bridge.
PennDOT has initiated these changes since Sunday morning, but it is not clear how long the crossover will last. The new configuration for southbound traffic on I-279 also impacts lanes heading to the North Shore or Route 65, which are routed into the crossed-over traffic pattern from the I-279 HOV lanes to the I-579 HOV lanes. On the Veterans Bridge, traffic will switch back over to the inbound lanes.
There are also several closures affecting the flow of traffic. The southbound Route 28 ramp to southbound I-579 will be closed, along with the ramp from southbound I-279 to southbound I-579. All HOV entrances and exits from southbound I-279—such as the Perrysville Park and Ride, McKnight Road, Anderson Street, Mazeroski Way, and Bedford Avenue—will remain closed. Access to southbound I-279 HOV lanes south of the split to the I-579 HOV lanes will be prohibited. Traffic from the southbound I-579 HOV lanes will then be crossed back over into the southbound I-579 lanes. Two 11-foot lanes will be maintained in the new configuration.
For those diverted from the closed southbound Route 28 ramp, detours are as follows: drivers can exit Route 28 at Exit 1B (East Ohio Street), turn right on Madison Avenue, which becomes East Street, and take it to Venture Avenue, where they can then turn right onto the ramp to southbound I-279 toward Downtown Pittsburgh. From there, drivers use the crossover lanes to join southbound I-579.
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