Post by 1kennychesney on Jun 10, 2007 16:23:30 GMT -5
Chesney concert, not detours, causes mess
Saturday, June 09, 2007
By Dennis Roddy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
More coverage
Hear Dennis Roddy's report on the day that traffic was supposed to stand still.
Live traffic updates
Map: Parkway East detour
Dan Cessna, district executive for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, talks with reporters about the Parkway East closures.
Why a complete lane closure is necessary.
The difference between the Parkway East closures past and present.
Motorists should be patient, forget road rage and remember that the police are watching.
Another alternative: Take the turnpike
Readers Forum: What do you think? Any tips?
In the concert versus construction mess face-off, Kenny Chesney is winning hands-down.
Though traffic is beginning to slow down on detour routes for the Parkway East construction closure, there have been no major problems today and traffic was light last night when the lane closures began.
As of just after 4 p.m., PennDOT reported no major problems. "Everything is working well. Traffic is flowing great on the detour route. No backups on the Parkway East. Everything is smooth," spokesman Jim Struzzi said.
Motorists coming into town for the Heinz Field Chesney concert, however, have caused and are caught in a massive backup along all major routes leading to the North Shore.
Traffic is building along the Parkway East outbound before the closure. Traffic along Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill -- the start of the marked detour for the construction project -- is now heavy. Traffic in Wilkinsburg, where the posted detour takes motorists, is very heavy and starting to back up around Hay and Penn.
But traffic is extremely heavy on the inbound Parkway East and backing up from the Grant Street and Stanwix exits. The Fort Pitt Bridge inbound became extremely slow by midafternoon, and an accident shut down one lane inbound so that traffic halted shortly after 4:45 p.m. The West End Bridge and West End Circle are nearly at a standstill, with traffic backed up along Route 51 for more than two miles. Traffic is nearly gridlocked around some of the stadium lots, police said.
Traffic last night along the Parkway East and detour routes was lighter and moving "better than anticipated," Mr. Struzzi said.
"I think people got the message. I think they took the necessary steps to avoid the traffic," Mr. Struzzi said. "So far, so good."
Last night, it took drivers about 15 minutes to cover the 41/2 mile detour route. A reporter taking the detour this morning starting at 8:15 reported it took about 20 minutes. But the posted detour and other routes are now slowing down significantly, motorists and police officers report.
The eastbound tunnels were shut down shortly before 9 last night, nearly an hour later than scheduled.
The eastbound parkway, Interstate 376, is scheduled to remain closed at the Squirrel Hill exit through the Edgewood/Swissvale interchange until 6 a.m. Monday.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
By Dennis Roddy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
More coverage
Hear Dennis Roddy's report on the day that traffic was supposed to stand still.
Live traffic updates
Map: Parkway East detour
Dan Cessna, district executive for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, talks with reporters about the Parkway East closures.
Why a complete lane closure is necessary.
The difference between the Parkway East closures past and present.
Motorists should be patient, forget road rage and remember that the police are watching.
Another alternative: Take the turnpike
Readers Forum: What do you think? Any tips?
In the concert versus construction mess face-off, Kenny Chesney is winning hands-down.
Though traffic is beginning to slow down on detour routes for the Parkway East construction closure, there have been no major problems today and traffic was light last night when the lane closures began.
As of just after 4 p.m., PennDOT reported no major problems. "Everything is working well. Traffic is flowing great on the detour route. No backups on the Parkway East. Everything is smooth," spokesman Jim Struzzi said.
Motorists coming into town for the Heinz Field Chesney concert, however, have caused and are caught in a massive backup along all major routes leading to the North Shore.
Traffic is building along the Parkway East outbound before the closure. Traffic along Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill -- the start of the marked detour for the construction project -- is now heavy. Traffic in Wilkinsburg, where the posted detour takes motorists, is very heavy and starting to back up around Hay and Penn.
But traffic is extremely heavy on the inbound Parkway East and backing up from the Grant Street and Stanwix exits. The Fort Pitt Bridge inbound became extremely slow by midafternoon, and an accident shut down one lane inbound so that traffic halted shortly after 4:45 p.m. The West End Bridge and West End Circle are nearly at a standstill, with traffic backed up along Route 51 for more than two miles. Traffic is nearly gridlocked around some of the stadium lots, police said.
Traffic last night along the Parkway East and detour routes was lighter and moving "better than anticipated," Mr. Struzzi said.
"I think people got the message. I think they took the necessary steps to avoid the traffic," Mr. Struzzi said. "So far, so good."
Last night, it took drivers about 15 minutes to cover the 41/2 mile detour route. A reporter taking the detour this morning starting at 8:15 reported it took about 20 minutes. But the posted detour and other routes are now slowing down significantly, motorists and police officers report.
The eastbound tunnels were shut down shortly before 9 last night, nearly an hour later than scheduled.
The eastbound parkway, Interstate 376, is scheduled to remain closed at the Squirrel Hill exit through the Edgewood/Swissvale interchange until 6 a.m. Monday.
