This Tool Can Help You Navigate the Parkway East Closure

SCREENSHOT VIA 511PA.COM

It’s officially here: the 25-day closure of a chunk of I-376, which comes as part of the Commercial Street Bridge Replacement Project. While officials long warned of traffic woes along its numerous detour routes — especially as summer events like Picklesburgh, Pirates games and the arrival of the Big Boy steam engine draw crowds into the city — the Commonwealth has also launched a special tool that can help drivers plan ahead. 

The specialized 511PA website and app features enhanced, real-time travel information that offers users insight into how long a trip may take. Hosted through the department’s www.511PA.com traveler information website, the page is dedicated to monitoring traffic conditions on primary travel routes to events and around the greater Pittsburgh area.

“This project puts Pennsylvania on the map for innovative, accelerated construction. While the closure is short-term, the benefits will last for generations,” PennDOT secretary Mike Carroll says in a statement. “We encourage all travelers to use 511PA for real-time updates and detour times so they can move through the area efficiently.”

The new webpage includes links to traffic maps with travel time for primary routes and detours around the City of Pittsburgh, as well as other helpful links and travel tips for navigating the closure. Users can see real-time incidents, construction, traffic cameras, traffic speeds and message board displays on the maps, too.

Travelers using the “My Routes” option will also have access to a list of special points of interest when choosing their starting point or destination, making it easier than ever to find the best route around the closure. 

To help keep travelers informed as work progresses on the Commercial Street Bridge, PennDOT has created an email distribution list for Parkway East traffic advisories and construction updates. You can enroll by clicking on the Parkway East online sign-up form link and entering your email address.

Updates can also be found on the Commercial Street Bridge webpage, by following PennDOT’s regional X page @511PAPittsburgh or joining the Greater Pittsburgh Area PennDOT Facebook group.

PennDOT’s Western Regional Traffic Management Center is also posting real-time travel information on changeable message signs along highways and detour routes. PennDOT will be utilizing cameras in the area and throughout the closure to enhance monitoring of current traffic conditions, as well as message boards to help direct travelers to the best, most efficient route.

Even when utilizing the 511 webpage or app, PennDOT says travelers in and around the greater Pittsburgh area should be prepared for changing traffic patterns, slow-moving or stopped vehicles and an increase in traffic on the detour routes. 

Already, congestion has been reported along detour routes, including that which takes travelers through Homestead; the influx of spectators in town to catch a glimpse of the massive steam engine Big Boy No. 4014 as it traveled along nearby tracks caused a two-hour traffic backup on Eighth Avenue and on the Homestead High Level Bridge, according to CBS News. 

Additionally, traffic backups along South Braddock Avenue in Regent Square this weekend were fueled in part by converging detour routes — the Fern Hollow Bridge in one direction and the Rankin Bridge in the other — as well as cars speeding through narrow residential streets, creating bottlenecks at stop signs and merge points. PennDOT has asked drivers to avoid cutting through residential side streets and to stick to the posted detour routes, even if it adds a little time to the daily commute. 

When possible, PennDOT encourages companies to allow their employees to work from home to reduce the number of cars on the road. If you have to commute through the project’s footprint, PennDOT encourages carpooling or the use of public transit — especially bus routes that travel the East Busway, which avoids the traffic altogether. 

On the 511PA webpage and app, you can select the small bus icon to see the most efficient public transportation routes. 

Information about additional Park & Ride locations, detour maps and directions are available here.