Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT is announcing that due to work needed before pier repairs begin on southbound Interstate 579, a long-term closure of the I-279 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes in the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County will begin Tuesday, June 24, weather permitting.
Beginning at approximately 6 a.m. Tuesday, crews will begin preparatory work for a new traffic configuration to allow pier repair work to occur on southbound I-579 bridges. For this work to occur, the I-279 portion of the HOV lanes will close to traffic around-the-clock until the new traffic configuration can be implemented in early to mid-July. The repair plan makes necessary long-term repairs while maintaining as much traffic flow as possible.
Crews will begin removal of concrete barrier between southbound I-279 and the I-279 HOV lanes as well as between the southbound I-579 HOV lanes and southbound I-579 along the Veterans Bridge over the Allegheny River. Additionally, temporary barrier installation, updated signage, asphalt paving, Intelligent Transportation Systems work, drainage modifications, and line painting will occur in advance of the new traffic configuration.
Once preparatory work is completed, the new traffic configuration will utilize a portion of the southbound I-279 HOV lanes and the southbound I-579 HOV lanes to carry traffic from southbound I-279 to southbound I-579 while pier repair work occurs. It is anticipated that in early to mid-July, repair work will begin on bridge piers on southbound I-579. To accommodate this work, the following traffic configuration will be implemented:
- Southbound I-279 traffic to southbound I-579 will be crossed over into the I-279 HOV lanes approximately 480 feet south of the Swindell Bridge.
- Crossed over traffic will continue onto the I-579 HOV lanes.
- ·Once on the Veterans Bridge, traffic from the southbound I-579 HOV lanes will be crossed back over into the southbound I-579 lanes.
- ·Two 11-foot lanes will be maintained in this new configuration.
Additional traffic restrictions include:
- The southbound Route 28 ramp to southbound I-579 (Ramp G) will be closed to traffic.
- The current ramp from southbound I-279 to southbound I-579 will be closed to traffic.
- All access to HOV entrances and exits from southbound I-279, the Perrysville Park and Ride, McKnight Road, Anderson Street, Mazeroski Way, and Bedford Avenue will be closed to traffic.
- Access to the southbound I-279 HOV lanes south of the split to the I-579 HOV lanes will be prohibited.
Posted Detour
Southbound Route 28 ramp to southbound I-579
- From southbound Route 28, take the East Ohio Street (Exit 1B) off-ramp
- From East Ohio Street, turn right onto Madison Avenue
- Madison Avenue becomes East Street
- Follow East Street to Venture Avenue
- Turn right onto the ramp to southbound I-279 toward Downtown
- From southbound I-279, take the crossed over lanes to southbound I-579
- End detour
Additional related information:
- The HOV lanes will remain closed for the Independence Day holiday.
- At least two lanes will be maintained on mainline I-279 in the southbound direction.
- Northbound I-579 will remain in its current configuration.
- Repairs on northbound I-579 piers will begin once the southbound work is completed. Details will be provided in advance of the phase change.
The long-term repair work follows previous inspection activities where the department found significant deterioration on several piers on I-579 and the I-579 HOV lanes. Out of an abundance of caution, traffic was shifted on mainline I-579 and completely removed from the I-579 HOV lanes while analysis was conducted. The department performed hands-on inspections of 35 piers in this location. The project team has been in constant communication to safely and efficiently develop and implement repairs while minimizing the impacts to motorists.
Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional X alerts.
Subscribe to PennDOT news and traffic alerts in Allegheny, Beaver, Lawrence counties at www.penndot.pa.gov/District11.
Information about infrastructure in District 11, including completed work and significant projects, is available at www.penndot.pa.gov/D11Results. Find PennDOT’s planned and active construction projects at www.projects.penndot.gov.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Steve Cowan, 412-429-5010
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