{"id":233986,"date":"2026-07-02T18:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T18:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/233986\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T18:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T18:37:12","slug":"the-dreaded-closure-of-i-376-is-coming-heres-what-to-expect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/233986\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dreaded Closure of I-376 Is Coming. Here\u2019s What to Expect."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Parkway<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO BY OLLIE GRATZINGER<\/p>\n

If you regularly travel on Pittsburgh\u2019s highways, you\u2019ve probably seen the signs declaring what\u2019s to come: A 25-day total closure of a large portion of I-376 from July 10 to Aug. 3.<\/p>\n

The reason: workers will be replacing the Commercial Street Bridge, a major throughway near the Squirrel Hill Tunnel that PennDOT says is traveled by more than 100,000 cars in each direction each day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The $95 million project can be a source of stress for folks who rely on the parkway.<\/p>\n

Already, some roads adjacent to the project zone have closed; on June 29, Commercial Street, Forward Avenue and the Nine Mile Run Trail closed to all traffic in the area near the Commercial Street Bridge \u2014 closures that will remain in place around-the-clock through August. Crews are performing what PennDOT calls \u201cpreparatory work\u201d leading up to the demolition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

PennDOT has suggested a variety of detours to reroute traffic around the closure. Interstate detours are recommended for trucks or drivers just passing through, while local detours are available to cars heading to a destination in or near the project zone. As per PennDOT\u2019s website<\/a>, here are the step-by-step detour instructions:<\/p>\n

Interstate Detour Westbound<\/p>\n

From westbound (inbound) I-376, take the Wilkinsburg (Exit 78B) exit toward PA 8 North
\nMerge onto Route 8 (Ardmore Boulevard)
\nContinue straight onto Route 8 (Penn Avenue)
\nTurn left onto Fifth Avenue
\nAfter going through Oakland, take the ramp to the left for westbound I-376. Use caution for opposing traffic
\nMerge onto the Boulevard of the Allies and stay in the right lane to merge onto westbound I-376 toward Downtown\/Fort Pitt Bridge
\nContinue straight to merge onto westbound (inbound) I-376<\/p>\n

Interstate Detour Eastbound<\/p>\n

From eastbound (outbound) I-376, take the Forbes Avenue\/ Oakland (Exit 72A) exit
\nMerge onto Forbes Avenue
\nTurn left onto South Bellefield Avenue
\nTurn right onto Fifth Avenue
\nTurn right onto Route 8 (Penn Avenue)
\nBear right to continue on Route 8 (Ardmore Boulevard)
\nTake the ramp to 376\/22\/30 toward Pittsburgh\/Monroeville
\nAt the split, bear left to eastbound 376\/22 toward Monroeville
\nMerge onto eastbound (outbound) I-376<\/p>\n

Local Detour Westbound<\/p>\n

From westbound (inbound) I-376, take the Edgewood\/Swissvale (Exit 77) exit
\nAt the end of the ramp, turn left onto South Braddock Avenue
\nContinue onto the Rankin Bridge
\nTurn right onto Route 837 (River Road)
\nContinue onto Route 837 (8th Avenue)
\nTurn right onto the Homestead Grays Bridge
\nContinue onto Browns Hill Road
\nContinue straight onto Beechwood Boulevard
\nFollow signs for westbound I-376 toward Pittsburgh
\nTake the ramp to westbound I-376 toward Pittsburgh<\/p>\n

Local Detour Eastbound<\/p>\n

From eastbound (outbound) I-376, take the Squirrel Hill\/Homestead (Exit 74) exit, continuing straight onto Beechwood Boulevard toward Homestead
\nContinue straight onto Browns Hill Road
\nContinue onto the Homestead Grays Bridge
\nTurn left onto Route 837 (8th Avenue)
\nContinue straight on Route 837 (River Road)
\nTurn left onto the Rankin Bridge
\nContinue onto South Braddock Avenue
\nBear right to merge onto eastbound I-376 toward Monroeville<\/p>\n

PennDOT is also recommending alternative routes for drivers coming into the city who would usually take I-376. Major throughways such as I-76, I-79, PA 28, PA 48 and PA 148 are utilized in the alternative routing.<\/p>\n

I-79 and I-76 are the premiere routes from the north and west \u2014 although bear in mind that I-76 is the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and travel on the road may incur tolls. PA 28 is the most efficient way to get to the East End or eastern suburbs from the city proper, and PA 48 and PA 148 can get folks coming toward Pittsburgh from the south to the eastern suburbs without interacting with local or interstate detours.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Map\"<\/a><\/p>\n

MAP COURTESY OF PENNDOT<\/p>\n

There are significant financial incentives for the construction crews to finish early \u2014 and significant financial penalties if they finish late; a mailer sent to local residents earlier this week notes that the dates are tentative, \u201cas unforeseen issues may arise during the project.\u201d The same mailer tells folks to \u201cexpect heavy delays\u201d and encourages anyone who is able to work from home or use alternative modes of transportation, like carpooling, biking or hopping on a PRT bus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For cyclists, PennDOT recommends bypassing the Commercial Street Bridge zone by utilizing Forbes Avenue, Beechwood Boulevard and Summerset Drive \u2014 safely avoiding the construction and demolition corridors as well as high-speed roads.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As for public transit, PRT says commuters can park at one of the various park-and-ride lots to take a bus that will use the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway to bypass the majority of traffic congestion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPublic transit offers commuters an opportunity to avoid some of the worst congestion,\u201d PRT CEO Katharine Kelleman says. \u201cOnce our buses reach the East Busway, they\u2019re traveling in their own dedicated corridor instead of sitting in traffic. If you\u2019ve never tried PRT for your daily commute, this is a great time to give it a try.\u201d<\/p>\n

PRT also says it will temporarily suspend its own construction projects, like the University Line project in Oakland, during the Commercial Street Bridge closure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For real-time updates on traffic conditions, call 511, download the 511PA app or follow 511PA on X<\/a>.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOTO BY OLLIE GRATZINGER If you regularly travel on Pittsburgh\u2019s highways, you\u2019ve probably seen the signs declaring what\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233987,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[20507,97023,53,23145,85054,73,75,74,1704],"class_list":["post-233986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-commercial-street-bridge","tag-commercial-street-bridge-closure","tag-construction","tag-i376","tag-parkway-closure","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-traffic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}