PennDOT is proposing security improvements to ease congestion on Parkway East

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – PennDOT seeks to ease congestion on the boulevard section by adding security upgrades that will ultimately improve traffic flow.

Bill Duncan drives Parkway to and from work every day. On a good day, he said, it could air out in East Park, but on a bad day it could take more than an hour each way.

“I don’t like it, but I have to do it,” Duncan said.

And he is not alone. KDKA has caught up with several drivers who share its problems. One woman even changed her zip code.

“It’s a huge pain. It didn’t really allow me and my partner to live in the area because of the traffic, ”said Amber Croce of Ben Avon.

PennDOT is working to provide $ 45 million for an active traffic management system. It will be directed to East Park, which enters and exits from Grant Street downtown all the way to Monroeville.

It is impossible to widen the highway due to tunnels and bridges, so PennDOT is doing the next best thing.

“Many of these strategies that we use will be more safety-related to reduce accidents, especially accidents from the back. But when we do that and we reduce incidents on Parkway, it also helps reduce congestion,” he said. said PennDOT engineer Todd Kravitz.

The plan consists of adding bulletin boards to warn drivers of accidents ahead and hinges warning of overlapping lanes with a red X and a green arrow to keep moving. Gates will go down to keep drivers from getting into an accident, and variable speed limits will keep the speed at a reasonable pace and reduce the number of collisions behind.

“They will be white and black and will look like normal. But during the day the speed can change from 55 to 50 or 45, and these will be speed limits,” Kravitz said.

The Southwest Pennsylvania Commission will vote on the proposal on June 26. If it is adopted, PennDOT will begin construction in late 2024, early 2025.