Community Corner

Inbound Squirrel Hill Tunnel to Close This Weekend

Detour and closure information.

Heidi Dezayas's profile picture
Heidi Dezayas, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge

The westbound (inbound) Squirrel Hill Tunnel on the Parkway East will be closed this weekend, May 31 to June 3. 

The closure will occur from 9 p.m. on Friday through 5 a.m. on Monday. Signs will be posted to guide motorists. The posted detour will require westbound traffic to form a single lane exiting at the Edgewood/Swissvale interchange (Exit 77). Significant delays should be expected and alternate routes considered. 
The outbound (eastbound) tunnel will remain open, although short-term traffic stoppages may occur for equipment access and material removal. 

Daylight detour (6 a.m. to 8 p.m.)  

  • Exit at Edgewood Swissvale (Exit 77)
  • Make right onto South Braddock Avenue
  • Left onto Forbes Avenue
  • Left onto Beechwood Boulevard
  • Right onto Forward Avenue
  • Access ramp to westbound I-376  
Night detour (8 p.m. to 6 a.m.)       
  • Exit at Edgewood/Swissvale (Exit 77)
  • Make right onto South Braddock Avenue
  • Left onto Forbes Avenue
  • Left onto Murray Avenue
  • Bear right onto Forward Avenue
  • Access ramp to westbound I-376  
Suggested alternate detour (if westbound Parkway East is congested)
  • Exit onto northbound Route 8/Ardmore Boulevard at Wilkinsburg Interchange (Exit 78)
  • Continue north on Penn Avenue 
  • Make left onto Braddock Avenue
  • Make right onto Forbes Avenue
  • From Forbes Avenue, follow detours provided above. 
According to PennDOT, very few motorists have been using the Exit 78 alternate detour provided above. The average time on the posted detour was more than an-hour and a half on Saturday, mostly due to traffic on the Parkway East waiting to use Exit 77. PennDOT suggests that more motorists use the alternate as a relief valve to help reduce travel time. 

Possible Alternate Routes 
To avoid lengthy delays on the posted detour, PennDOT also suggests for motorists in the east taking the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Monroeville to the Harmar Interchange (Exit 48) and using southbound Route 28 to access downtown. Weekend closures that have been occurring on southbound Route 28 at the Millvale interchange will be postponed during the westbound tunnel weekend closures.     

Motorists may also consider taking the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Monroeville to the I-79 interchange in Cranberry (Exit 77) and following I-79 south to the Parkway North (I-279) to Pittsburgh. Travelers from the east can use westbound I-70 to northbound I-79 to the eastbound (inbound) Parkway West (I-376).    

Plan Ahead

A webpage for the project that features general information and detour route travel times and cameras can be found at www.dot.state.pa.us/district11. Click Squirrel Hill Tunnel Rehabilitation Project link on the right. The travel time and camera links are in the lower right hand corner along with other detour information. 

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