From changing work schedules to plotting new physical routes, Parkway East commuters are scrambling to adapt to a massive highway closure.<\/p>\n
The stretch between the Edgewood and Squirrel Hill exits will remain shut down for 25 days for the Commercial Street bridge replacement.<\/p>\n
The disruption hits eastern suburbs and Westmoreland County particularly hard, forcing regular travelers to either find a new way into Pittsburgh or bypass the commute altogether.<\/p>\n
Marge Bibb of Jeannette is switching her work schedule so her shift begins earlier, at 6 a.m., and plans to use one of the local detours. Bibb works for the United Steelworkers Health & Welfare Fund at the United Steelworkers Building in Downtown Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve commuted to Pittsburgh for 28 years, and I used to van-pool into the city,\u201d Bibb said. \u201cBut all the van pools shut down after covid. I\u2019m not able to work from home, but as long as my shift is between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., I could pick my schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bibb said she typically tries to work an earlier shift to avoid traffic, but isn\u2019t sure it\u2019ll be possible during the closure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hoping the earlier times will help, but I figure my patience will be tested for sure,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Janet Stout of Penn Township isn\u2019t even driving as far as the closure site, but is already concerned about how traffic will affect her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a home care nurse and have a route that goes into Churchill,\u201d Stout said. \u201cI talked to my boss about shifting those patient visits to Saturday and Sunday. I think I\u2019m going to go through Monroeville on Route 22, which is backed up with traffic on a normal day, so I figured the best thing would be to rearrange my schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stout said if she\u2019s required to make an emergency visit, she\u2019ll use Route 22.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank God for GPS,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cEveryone who needs to get into Pittsburgh is going to be using every \u2018back way\u2019 around, so I think it\u2019ll be busy no matter where you try to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emergency services<\/p>\n
For Westmoreland County ambulance services, an emergency trip involving the Parkway East \u2014 particularly a trip west of Monroeville \u2014 is unlikely.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe state released a list of detours for commuters, and those are probably the ones we\u2019ll use,\u201d said Shawn Penzera, spokesperson for Mutual Aid Ambulance, which has stations throughout Westmoreland County.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor an ambulance, it\u2019s easier for us to just get on a highway and go,\u201d he said. \u201cUsing the detour will likely take the same amount of time as if we tried to navigate back roads.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emergency vehicles also have access to the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway, whose western terminus is near Route 30. That access will not change during the Parkway closure, according to Murrysville Medic One spokesperson Matt Stromberg.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery now and then, if they need to, Medic One has used the busway. But that\u2019s fairly rare,\u201d Stromberg said. \u201cIt just depends on the day and the need, and what people are requesting. If it\u2019s just a transport, they may use the detour. But in a medical emergency, they need to get there as quickly as possible, which would be the busway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Penzera said that with Mutual Aid stations dotted across the county, the busway may not always be the quickest route.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt depends on where you\u2019re going and which way is going to be quicker,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we\u2019ll have maps available in advance to our crews so they know the fastest way, depending on where they\u2019re coming from and where they\u2019re heading.\u201d<\/p>\n
Penzera said Mutual Aid ambulances generally don\u2019t transport patients from an emergency to hospitals on the far side of the Squirrel Hill Tunnels.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we\u2019re doing a ground transportation, we\u2019ll probably be taking them to Forbes (in Monroeville),\u201d Penzera said. \u201cSometimes a patient will request a Pittsburgh hospital, and we can certainly accommodate them. And sometimes we\u2019re transferring someone from a Westmoreland hospital down to Pittsburgh. But those are typically the only instances when one of our crews would be traveling all the way to the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stromberg said Murrysville Medic One, along with other emergency services in western Westmoreland County, are fortunate to have Forbes Hospital just up the highway, on their side of the Parkway closure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trauma center at Forbes is a big advantage for us,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then if that person needs to get to Pittsburgh quickly, they can use the medical helicopter.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Finding a way<\/p>\n
In order to help commuters, state transportation officials have launched a specialized version of the 511pa.com website that shows traffic conditions across the state.<\/p>\n