Outbound Fort Pitt Tunnel to close for weekend as ceiling removal begins

The outbound Fort Pitt Tunnel will close this weekend as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation begins a $14.2 million project to remove the deteriorated ceiling.

The tunnel will close at 10 p.m. Friday and reopen by 6 a.m. Monday. The posted detour uses West Carson Street to the West End Bypass. PennDOT is warning drivers of likely significant traffic delays.

The inbound tunnel will be open, but traffic may be stopped briefly at times during equipment movement and debris removal.

The closure is the first of eight weekend shutdowns planned as part of the project. The dates of the remaining closures have not been announced.

The additional closures will be scheduled to minimize impacts on Downtown events when possible, the department said in its announcement.

The project also will cause four overnight closures on weekends and lane restrictions during off-peak hours and on weekends. Overnight lane closures will begin in both directions in January.

In addition to removing the ceiling, the project calls for repairs to the walls, drainage improvements, relocating closed-circuit TV cameras, and milling and resurfacing the roadways.

In a related development, nightly closures of the Parkway West may be over for the year.

This weeks schedule for restrictions in the work zone between Green Tree and Interstate 79 calls for single-lane traffic in both directions in the area of the Carnegie interchange starting at 10 p.m. daily through Saturday. Restrictions will be lifted by 6 a.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Spokesman Steve Cowan said the department is hoping to avoid any additional full closures in the work zone until the $72.8 million reconstruction project goes on winter hiatus in mid-December. If the traffic pattern is shown to pose a danger to drivers or workers, full overnight closures will be reinstated, he said.

The rest is here:
Outbound Fort Pitt Tunnel to close for weekend as ceiling removal begins