Friday officially marks two weeks to go until the Parkway East is shut down for 25 days. PennDOT officials are spending the day testing their equipment again, even though Friday’s temporary closure of Commercial Street was unplanned. Construction crews, PennDOT officials and other local leaders held a press conference Thursday to provide updates on the project ahead of the July 10 shutdown. Has something like this ever been done before? The full closure of the Parkway East will allow crews to demolish the old Commercial Street Bridge before sliding the new bridge into place. During this time, crews will also work on other necessary repairs around the area, including the repaving of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. All of this work, which began in 2024, marks one of PennDOT’s largest infrastructure projects to date. “I know the turnpike has done a couple of these. The most recent one is in eastern Pennsylvania near Allentown. It was a four-lane bridge, much, much smaller, less than 100 feet. Nothing like 850 feet here in Pittsburgh,” explained Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Mike Carrol during a press conference Thursday. He added, “So, has it been done before? Yes. Has it been done at this scale? Not even close.” Jason Zang, PennDOT’s District 11 executive, said his crews have experience sliding bridges into place and building bridges in sections, citing Route 50 in Bridgeville, which was completed over a few weekends. However, Zang said that to his knowledge, there is no project that compares to the size and scope of this one. PennDOT officials said the company responsible for moving the bridge is Mammoet, a Dutch firm known for having the “world’s largest and most modern fleet of heavy lifting equipment.” The equipment being used for this project recently arrived in Western Pennsylvania from the Netherlands. Do you have questions about the project, the work or the detours? Send us an email at traffictip@wtae.com.FULL BREAKDOWN OF THE DETOURS: Click here

PITTSBURGH —

Friday officially marks two weeks to go until the Parkway East is shut down for 25 days.

PennDOT officials are spending the day testing their equipment again, even though Friday’s temporary closure of Commercial Street was unplanned.

Construction crews, PennDOT officials and other local leaders held a press conference Thursday to provide updates on the project ahead of the July 10 shutdown.

Has something like this ever been done before?

The full closure of the Parkway East will allow crews to demolish the old Commercial Street Bridge before sliding the new bridge into place. During this time, crews will also work on other necessary repairs around the area, including the repaving of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel.

All of this work, which began in 2024, marks one of PennDOT’s largest infrastructure projects to date.

“I know the turnpike has done a couple of these. The most recent one is in eastern Pennsylvania near Allentown. It was a four-lane bridge, much, much smaller, less than 100 feet. Nothing like 850 feet here in Pittsburgh,” explained Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Mike Carrol during a press conference Thursday.

He added, “So, has it been done before? Yes. Has it been done at this scale? Not even close.”

Jason Zang, PennDOT’s District 11 executive, said his crews have experience sliding bridges into place and building bridges in sections, citing Route 50 in Bridgeville, which was completed over a few weekends. However, Zang said that to his knowledge, there is no project that compares to the size and scope of this one.

PennDOT officials said the company responsible for moving the bridge is Mammoet, a Dutch firm known for having the “world’s largest and most modern fleet of heavy lifting equipment.”

The equipment being used for this project recently arrived in Western Pennsylvania from the Netherlands.

Do you have questions about the project, the work or the detours? Send us an email at traffictip@wtae.com.

FULL BREAKDOWN OF THE DETOURS: Click here