Pittsburgh, PA – Today, Governor Josh Shapiro, Lt. Governor Austin Davis, and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Secretary Mike Carroll joined local officials and community leaders at the new Commercial Street Bridge in Allegheny County to announce that Parkway East will reopen to traffic later today, a full week ahead of schedule. The $95 million project is one of the largest of its kind ever performed in Pennsylvania.
“My Administration is focused on bringing people together to get stuff done for the good people of Pennsylvania – and I’m proud of the skilled tradesmen and women, engineers, law enforcement officers, and local officials who worked around the clock to reopen the Parkway East a full week ahead of schedule,” said Governor Shapiro. “This bridge carries 100,000 vehicles every day – it’s a critical connection for folks in Western Pennsylvania and we knew we needed to work quickly to get the job done. We’ve proven once again that we can do big things here in Pennsylvania.”
The eastbound lane of the Parkway East will reopen at 8:00 PM tonight, and the westbound lane will reopen shortly after, with two lanes of traffic scheduled to open in both directions by midnight. However, if inclement weather impacts this schedule, traffic restrictions will be lifted by Tuesday morning.
To accomplish this replacement in such a short timeframe, PennDOT constructed the new Commercial Street Bridge next to the existing structure. Crews then demolished the old bridge and utilized Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) techniques to slide the new structure into place.
The original bridge closed to traffic on July 10th and demolition took place on July 16th. Lateral slide operations on the new bridge began on Sunday, July 19, and continued into Monday, July 20. Crews moved the structure 96 feet in seven hours on the first day and completed the remaining six feet and set the bridge back down the following morning. 1-376 was planned to be closed until August 3, however, thanks to favorable conditions and the hard work of dedicated crews, Parkway East will open after only 17 days.
“The reopening of I-376 Parkway East is a huge accomplishment for Pennsylvania and the thousands of people who depend on it every day,” said Lt. Gov. Austin Davis. “Our bridges knit together our neighborhoods and connect opportunities, and I want to thank state officials, PennDOT and partners for their hard work in getting this done ahead of schedule.”
The Commercial Street Bridge Replacement Project is located between the Edgewood/Swissvale (Exit 77) interchange and Squirrel Hill Tunnel in Swissvale Borough and the City of Pittsburgh. Approximately 100,000 vehicles a day travel on I-376 over Commercial Street, on average.
“We knew what a large impact this project would have on the travelers who use it and the surrounding businesses and residents, which is why this amazing team chose this method to replace the bridge,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “Not only did they design this project to reduce public impacts, they pushed aggressively and delivered ahead of schedule. Kudos to every team member involved.”
Commercial Street and Nine Mile Run Trail are expected to remain closed through early August. Travelers are encouraged to check the Commercial Street Bridge webpage for updates and sign up for Parkway East email alerts.
Construction on the Commercial Street Bridge Replacement Project began in June 2024 with the reconstruction of the westbound I-376 off-ramp to Forest Hills/Wilkinsburg (Exit 78B). Previous work included temporary and permanent piers, abutments, and piles for temporary and permanent foundations, steel delivery and erection, and the continuation of phased Intelligent Transportation System work. To reduce the impact on traffic, Commercial Street and the Nine Mile Run Trail below the interstate bridge were temporarily relocated while most of the work occurred. The overall project is anticipated to be completed in summer 2027.
Under Governor Shapiro’s Administration, 20,538 road miles have been improved statewide, and work has advanced on 1,898 state and local bridges. The Governor’s 2026-27 enacted budget will drive out an additional $775 million over the next two fiscal years for shovel-ready projects to repair state-owned roads across Pennsylvania.