The placement of beams for the Unity-Trestle Road bridge in Plum will require a five-hour closure of the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s eastbound lanes beginning late Saturday night.
The Turnpike will be closed between the Allegheny Valley (Exit 48) in Harmar and Pittsburgh (Exit 57) exit in Monroeville, from 11:49 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 1 to 5 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 2.
The bridge carries traffic in Plum over the Turnpike at milepost 52.36.
The official detour — roughly 30-miles — is as follows, for eastbound drivers only.
While the official detour is designed to accommodate all traffic, including tractor-trailer trucks, there are several routes on local roads through Plum and Monroeville that are much shorter.
Here’s the official detour:
• Exit the Turnpike at Allegheny Valley;
• Take Freeport Road to Route 910 westbound;
• Take Route 28 southbound to the I-579/Veterans Bridge exit in Pittsburgh;
• Follow signs for the Parkway East (I-376) to the Turnpike’s Exit 15;
• Re-enter the Turnpike at the Pittsburgh interchange, following signs for Harrisburg.
Message boards will be in place to alert drivers of the closure, and information will be posted at the Oakmont/Plum service plaza.
Restrictions at Blue Mountain Interchange
The Turnpike will also have restrictions in place beginning Monday, Aug. 3, at the Kittatinny and Blue Mountain tunnels in Franklin County.
Eastbound tunnels will be closed between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and traffic headed that direction will share the westbound tunnel.
Both tunnels will be open Friday and Saturday.
From Aug. 12-20, the westbound tunnels will be closed during the same hours and days, and all traffic will use the eastbound tunnels.
Commercial restrictions for over-width and over-length vehicles will be in place during the closures, which are required as part of the bi-annual inspection and maintenance of the tunnels.
