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Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing the closure of the inbound (southbound) I-279 and I-579 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes in Ross Township and the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, will occur Thursday morning, March 23.

The inbound HOV lanes will not open to traffic on Thursday morning as the department conducts technology and equipment evaluations on the HOV system including testing the fast-acting gates and wrong-way detection equipment and software.

The HOV lanes will reopen to traffic at 3 p.m. Thursday in the outbound (northbound) direction. The HOV lanes will remain open in the outbound direction around-the-clock while the department evaluates operational effectiveness. The inbound direction will remain closed until further notice.

The HOV lanes are used to reduce congestion along Interstate 279 (Parkway North) by promoting ridesharing via carpooling, van pooling, or public transportation.

To help keep motorists informed, PennDOT has created an email distribution list for I-279 Parkway North traffic advisories. Enroll by sending email addresses to stcowan@pa.gov. Please write “Subscribe – Parkway North” in the subject line.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway 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.

CONTACT: Steve Cowan, 412-429-5010

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