Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing safety enhancement work on southbound Interstate 79 in Glenfield, Sewickley Hills, and Franklin Park boroughs and Ohio and Aleppo townships, Allegheny County will occur Thursday, February 23 weather permitting.

Safety improvement work including milling and paving rumble strips, pavement markings, and raised pavement marker installation will occur from approximately 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday on southbound I-79 in the local (right-hand) lane.  To accommodate this work, all southbound traffic will continue to be maintained in a single-lane beginning approximately ½ mile prior to the work zone and use the crossed over left-hand express lane Thursday.

Southbound I-79 traffic will not be able to access the Mt. Nebo Road (Exit 68) and the Emsworth/Sewickley Route 65 (Exit 66) interchanges. Traffic to those exits will be detoured.

Posted Detour

• Southbound I-79 traffic will take the Neville Island (Exit 65) off-ramp

• Turn right onto Grand Avenue

• Take the ramp to northbound I-79

• From northbound I-79 follow to the Emsworth/Sewickey or Mt. Nebo Road interchanges

• End detour

At approximately 5 p.m. Thursday the single-lane of southbound traffic will be shifted back into the local lane so improvement work including pavement markings, raised pavement marker installation, sign additions, and barrier work can continue in the express lane.

Due to several crashes at the crossover location, the Department closed the left-hand express lane on Monday evening and implemented a 45 MPH work zone speed limit in the southbound direction. This work is part of on-going efforts to make the work zone safer for motorists.

The work is part of the $26.49 million I-79 improvement project. Improvements include four bridge deck replacements, one bridge preservation, milling and resurfacing, preservation work on seven sign structures, installation of five new ITS signs, guide rail improvements, signage updates, and pavement marking installation. Crossovers will occur on southbound I-79 in 2023 for bridge deck replacement work. The majority of the project will conclude in early 2024.

The prime contractor is the Joseph B. Fay Company. Work on this project will be coordinated with other projects in the area.

To help keep motorists informed as work progresses, PennDOT has created an email distribution list for the I-79 Neville Island Bridge rehabilitation including traffic advisories and construction updates. Enroll by sending email addresses to stcowan@pa.gov. Please write “Subscribe – I-79” in the subject line.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

MEDIA CONTACT: Steve Cowan, 412-429-5010

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