Commercial Street to close June 29 for bridge project
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Crews prepare the new Commercial Street Bridge on June 17. Photo: Chrissy Suttles/Axios
The first phase of Pittsburgh's massive summer traffic disruption begins next week.
The big picture: The Commercial Street Bridge — part of Parkway East, one of the region's most congested highways — is being replaced, leading to weeks-long road closures and major detours.
Zoom in: Part of Commercial Street/Forward Avenue will close first to make way for work on the bridge above.
- The road will close between Whipple Street and Beechwood Boulevard starting at 7am June 29 and remain closed until the project is completed in early August, per PennDOT.
- Drivers from Swisshelm Park will detour via Whipple Street, Monongahela Avenue, S. Braddock Avenue, Forbes Avenue and Beechwood Boulevard before reconnecting with Forward Avenue. Traffic traveling in the opposite direction will follow the reverse route.
- Find an interactive map of the detours here.
Catch up quick: PennDOT is replacing the aging Commercial Street Bridge near the outbound Squirrel Hill Tunnel in a $95 million project.
- The bridge carries more than 100,000 vehicles daily, per PennDOT.
- The full Parkway closure between the Wilkinsburg exit (78B) and the Forbes Avenue/Oakland exit (72A) from July 10 to Aug. 3 is expected to cause significant traffic backups.
What's next: A new bridge is taking shape next to the existing span. Once the highway closes, crews will demolish the old bridge and slide its replacement into place.