Pennsylvania Highways: Interstate 376

Back in the late 1940s, as the steel industry was heating up in Pittsburgh, it was determined that something had to be done for transportation into and out of the city. Called to help with the planning of the "new Pittsburgh" was Robert Moses, known for helping to shape New York City's highway transportation network, devised a plan that included the Crosstown Boulevard as well as the Penn-Lincoln Parkway.

The Penn-Lincoln Parkway actually was first envisioned in the Model-T days of 1921, when the Citizens Committee on City Plan of Pittsburgh the forerunner of the Regional Planning Commission, set forth a plan to upgrade Second Avenue into a four and six-lane boulevard and extending it through Nine Mile Run to Swissvale. In April 1924, the Boulevard of the Allies Extension Association was formed by residents of the East End to promote extending the boulevard through Squirrel Hill, Swissvale, Rankin, and Braddock to East McKeesport. Later that same year, the Allegheny County Department of Public Works considered the idea and made some preliminary studies.

In 1930, Pittsburgh Department of Public works became interested and began to collaborate between City and County engineers. Between 1930 and 1933, the County was actively pursuing the extension and spent close to $7,500 on surveys and plans. The route would be via Forward Avenue and bypassing Wilkinsburg but not traveling south through Braddock. On the other hand, the City Planning Commission began studying an extension of the boulevard in 1930 as well. However, their report in 1933 set forth a route with a proposed tunnel under Schenley Park.

In 1934, a group of prominent citizens from the East End created the Penn-Lincoln Highway Association to promote a highway improvement. An engineering committee which included representatives from the Department of Highways District 11-0, City and County Planning Commissions, and the City and County Departments of Public Works was created. Its task was to recommend a location for the part of the highway east of downtown, which until that time had different routes proposed. In 1935, the County Planning Commission proposed an eastward highway almost identical in alignment to today's Parkway, with the exception of double-decking parts of Second Avenue which was rejected.

On April 9, 1937, a caravan of state officials as well as representatives of the Pittsburgh and Allegheny County governments and Penn-Lincoln Highway Association drove from Churchill to Campbells Run Road. After encountering the perils faced by trying to traverse the urban landscape with traffic signals, stop signs, and congestion, state officials agreed to adopt the Penn-Lincoln Highway as a state project at a dinner that evening.

Later in 1937, the Department of Highways' district engineer began studies and compile estimates on the Parkway. The County planning engineer was authorized to cooperate and provide assistance such as engineering services.

The US Bureau of Public Roads announced its approval of the expressway plan on September 16, 1938. The approved routes were virtually identical with the present Parkways, right down to the Squirrel Hill and Fort Pitt Tunnels. It would not be until 1941 when the Federal Public Roads Administration formally agreed to match state funds and prepare for construction.

As World War II was drawing to a close, postwar planning began in earnest in Pittsburgh. The Allegheny Conference on Community Development was formed as a private citizens' organization to spearhead improvement programs such as the Penn-Lincoln Parkway. When the war concluded in 1945, the parkway was ready to begin. Through the influence of Attorney General James H. Duff and Richard K. Mellon, Governor Edward Maring approved $57 million for improvements in Pittsburgh, of which two were the Parkway, Crosstown Boulevard, and Point State Park construction. The plan was devised by Robert Moses, who was known for planning New York City's highway transportation system.

Chief Engineer of Road and Chief Engineer of Planning for Allegheny County, and eventually Secretary of Highways during I-376's construction, E. L. Schmidt sought through the years to convert his vision into reality and received help from several administrations. Governor Edward Martin (1943-1947) approved legislation establishing the expressway and in his term, work would begin from US 22 to US 30. Governor James Duff (1947-1951) made the Edgewood interchange, Commercial Street viaduct, roadway from Bates Street to Frazier Avenue bridge, Squirrel Hill Tunnel, and to Forward Avenue possible. Governor John Fine (1951-1955) continued construction on the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and interchange with Bates Street, bringing the Parkway to completion.

Planned Point by Robert Moses
Moses' planned Point Interchange utilizing the former Point
and Manchester Bridges. Instead of the fountain, a beacon
was to be the center of focus at the point. I think the fountain
was a good choice. (Arterial Plan for Pittsburgh)

Detailed drawing of the interchange at the Point.
(Arterial Plan for Pittsburgh)

Proposed connection with the Wabash Bridge
Planned interchange with the Wabash Bridge. This drawing
might come back if and when the bridge is built as a part of
the Wabash HOV project.
(Arterial Plan for Pittsburgh)

Drawing of the proposed interchange
between the Pitt Parkway and Crosstown
Boulevard. (Arterial Plan for Pittsburgh)

Cross section of what the Pitt Parkway would have looked like.
(Arterial Plan for Pittsburgh)

The Department of Highways proposed a parkway from US 22 in Churchill to downtown and out to the new Greater Pittsburgh International Airport in May 1944, to be called the Pitt Parkway after Moses' suggestion. However, unlike his plan, the Parkway would not have at-grade intersections at certain areas, and the name changed to reflect the confluence of the two highways that would be carried: William Penn and Lincoln. Most of alignment that was proposed was used in the final design and construction; however, the one section that was under debate was from the Edgewood-Swissvale area to downtown. The three routes that were studied were the Penn Avenue Alternate, Fifth Avenue Alternate, and the adopted location. The specifics of the routes were as follow:

Penn-Lincoln Parkway Designs From 1952
	Proposed Parkway East entrance into the city and the Fort Pitt Bridge in the foreground. It replaced the former Point Bridge which can be seen at the bottom. (Paul Slantis)
	Proposed Boulevard of the Allies interchange with its numerous ramps weaving between the two highways. (Paul Slantis)

Ground was broken on July 25, 1946 when Alexander Alden of West Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania climbed aboard a Caterpillar D-8 and commenced bulldozing from Greensburg Pike to Ardmore Boulevard in Wilkinsburg. The sound of timber crashing to the ground signaled the start of a transportation revolution in the Steel City. Johnson, Drake, and Piper, Inc. of New York was the general contractor, having submitted a low bid of $2,042,368. The excavation and grading working was completed by the M & S Construction Company, Inc. of Pittsburgh.

Penn-Lincoln Parkway Construction
	Parkway East and Fort Pitt Bridge Interchange in 1957, with east-west traffic still utilizing Water Street through the work zone. (Pennsylvania Department of Highways)
	Retaining wall being built near Duquesne University in September 1953. (James Blair)
	End of the Parkway at Bates Street on March 12, 1953. (Pennsylvania Department of Highways)
	Looking west from Brady Street on April 13, 1954. (Pennsylvania Department of Highways)
	The Parkway at Brady Street in September 1953. (James Blair)
	Construction at the Bates Street Interchange in 1950. (Pennsylvania Department of Highways)
	Construction at Forward Avenue in June 1952. (Clyde Hare)

One of the more challenging aspects of the project was what to do with Squirrel Hill which sat in the path of the expressway. Excavating a cut would destroy an extensive residential area including a large apartment complex, a church, and a school, so a tunnel was proposed as the solution. The expressway would enter from the east via a deep ravine where Nine Mile Run flows through. Traffic surveys showed that volumes would reach 40,000 vehicles per day by 1960; therefore, twin tubes each carrying two 12-foot lanes were approved. Ole Singstad, an internationally recognized name in tunnel design, was retained for the project.

The tunnel project experienced a delay in March 1948, due to the lowest bid placed at that time at $18 million, an offer that was promptly turned down by the state. That bid called for complete construction, but the Department of Highways saw no need to include items like the lining and roadway surface while material costs were high following World War II.

View along Second Avenue in 1948. The hillside is currently
where I-376 runs. (Todd Webb)

On August 5, 1948, the Department of Highways announced that construction of the 4,200-foot-long Squirrel Hill Tunnel would begin by September 1. This would become the department's largest contract ever awarded to that time, totaling $13,767,843 went to B. Perini & Sons, Inc. of Framingham, Massachusetts. This did not include construction of the tunnel lining and highway surface inside the tunnel, nor the ventilating building or pavement of the approaches. Excavation would commence on November 21, 1948 with drilling progressing on both tunnels at 12 to 24 feet per day. Breakthrough ceremonies took place on September 15, 1949 when workers from both sides of Squirrel Hill met in the middle of the future tunnel.

Workers used many unique items in the construction of the tunnel. A large metal turntable to allow trucks to enter the bore and turn around after being filled with material. Huge steel forms on rails were used for creating the lining by forcing the concrete to encase the rocks and earth in a solid wall.

Penn-Lincoln Parkway Construction
	Pneumatic placers used to place the Squirrel Hill Tunnel lining. (Pennsylvania Department of Highways)
	Assembling steel forms for the concrete tunnel lining in 1953. (Pennsylvania Department of Highways)

Governor John S. Fine cut the ribbon to open first section from Exit 2B to Exit 10B on June 5, 1953, which included the tunnel. This was the first modern expressway to be built in Pittsburgh. It was also a tricky project, that not only involved mining coal vein under the Ardmore Boulevard interchange but also practically blasting into the basements of some buildings on the Squirrel Hill Tunnel section. About 400,000 cubic feet of earth was moved in its construction. Unfortunately, construction of the tunnel cost the lives of three workers out of a total of six who died in construction of the entire section.

The tunnels are 4,225 feet-long, 29 feet, 1 3/4 inches wide, and a vertical clearance of 14 feet from pavement to ceiling. The arched roof above the ceiling has a radius of 19 feet and 3 inches. The tubes are 27 feet apart. There are eight passage ways located at 500 feet intervals between both tunnels, with an emergency phone and steel doors to protect people using them from fire and air currents. A complex system of drainage, telephone, electric, water, fire alarm, ventilating lines, as well as pipes for drawing air samples into analyzers are located underneath, above, and behind the walls of the tunnels. Fire alarm boxes are placed at frequent intervals and tow trucks equipped with fire fighting apparatus and other emergency equipment are permanently stationed at the tunnels. Outside the tunnels were photo-electric tubes that scanned each vehicle to see if it would clear the tunnel. If a vehicle cuts the beam produced by these tubes, signals will turn on to halt the vehicle and warn motorists within or approaching the tunnel. They were so sensitive that it could detect an object less than one inch in size moving at 60 MPH. Bells will ring to alert workers at the tunnel to take the vehicle off the Parkway. If a fire breaks out, a similar system goes into action that alerts workers in the control room with a bell and red light. In addition, 84 fire extinguishers are installed.

Air is continually analyzed, and if a concentration of fumes is detected, warning lights will go off in the control room. The sampling tubes are located throughout the tunnel to detect high concentrations of carbon monoxide or other fumes, and if high enough, crews are alerted. Four fans are located in the ventilation buildings on either end of the tunnel and the air forced through air ports of various sizes and spacing to maintain a consistent healthy air flow. Two-way dampers make it possible to exhaust or blow air into the tunnels. Air will not only be controlled on the basis of traffic density, but also the direction of outside air and barometric pressure.

The ceilings of the tunnel are suspended by stainless steel hangars from the arch of the tunnel bore. A drainage system underneath the tunnel keep the lanes dry. Water lines are included for fire fighting and maintenance. Fire clay brick was used on the floor as a wearing surface with a center line of white brick to separate travel lanes. They sat on 10-inch thick concrete which itself is laid on 12-inch thick coarse aggregate. The tubes have two continuous rows of florescent lights with white tile walls and white painted ceiling. Enamel-coated walk railings were used to accentuate the illuminations, but were removed in the rehabilitation in the 1980s. High powered lighting was used at the entrances so that drivers could get accustomed to the artificial lighting. Someone traveling at 40 MPH could get used to the interior lights within 30 seconds.

Quantities of Materials
Excavation	3,897,000 cubic yards
Concrete for Structures	209,000 cubic yards
Concrete Pavement	326,000 square yards
Reinforcement Bars	15,165,000 pounds
Fabricated Structural Steel	33,245,000 pounds
Wire Mesh Reinforcement	3,100,000 pounds

Completed Penn-Lincoln Parkway
	Map showing the completed sections and sections under construction by 1953. (Pennsylvania Department of Highways)
	Facing the Bates Street interchange and downtown Pittsburgh. (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation)
	The Homestead/Squirrel Hill interchange from the western portal of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation)
	Eastern portal of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation)
	The Edgewood/Swissvale interchange at Braddock Avenue. (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation)
	Facing westbound at the Brinton Road overpass just west of the Forest Hills/Wilkinsburg interchange. (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation)
	At the Forest Hills/Wilkinsburg interchange where US 30 joins the Parkway. (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation)
	Facing westbound at the Forest Hills/Wilkinsburg interchange. (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation)

The next section to open was from Bates Street to the Boulevard of the Allies at 11 AM on September 10, 1956. However, only the eastbound lanes opened to traffic and so drivers had to wait another 19 days until the opening of the westbound lanes.

A milestone was reached on January 17, 1958, when the first downtown link of the Parkway East opened. The eastbound ramp from Grant Street and the expressway to the Forbes Avenue interchange saw its first vehicles that day. Other Downtown ramps leading to the eastbound parkway opened in July and August 1958. By September of that year, traffic entering at the Point, or from Market, Wood, or Grant Street had an unimpeded ribbon of highway to travel to the eastern suburbs.

The last section to open was from the Point to Exit 2B in 1959. The reason for the delay was that it was necessary to move the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad buildings and track near the Grant Street interchange. Also, weaving the highway in between the elevated eastbound lanes of Fort Pitt Boulevard took time.

A total of $31,235,000 was spent on the Parkway East. The expressway from Churchill to the Boulevard of the Allies interchange cost $16,541,000 in addition to $18,111,000 for the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and from that point to the Fort Pitt Bridge came in at $25,220,000. The Boulevard of the Allies interchange cost $4,700,000 itself with the ramps and underpasses west from Tenth Street cost $10,200,000. The relocation of Second Avenue cost $4,300,000.

Temporary end of the Penn-Lincoln Parkway at the Boulevard of the Allies
in 1959. (Clyde Hare)

The final link was from Churchill to the Turnpike which began in 1961. Not just because of I-70 being proposed through the city, but also because of the growth of Monroeville justified the construction of a bypass. The $11,124,763 section opened at 11:30 AM on October 27, 1962. It is easy to tell that this part was built after the Interstate legislation was passed because of the wide median and its six lanes.

View of the Parkway at the Boulevard of the Allies
interchange in 1958.
(Pennsylvania Department of Highways)

In the mid-1980s, the original Parkway was beginning to show its wear. PennDOT rebuilt the entire highway, from ground up, from the Greensburg Pike interchange into downtown which equated to 6.7 miles of the highway. For a time, the westbound lanes were closed, which meant the eastbound lanes were used for two way traffic. The project included rehabilitating 21 bridges including the Squirrel Hill Tunnels and required 200,000 square yards of slip-formed reinforced concrete. This project ended in late 1985. One feature of the project was the addition of pumps in the westbound lanes between I-279 and Exit 1C. These lanes are depressed and on the same level as the Mon Warf parking area and the Monongahela River. During floods such as in 1972 when Tropical Storm Agnes hit Pennsylvania, the parking area is always under water. If water reaches the highway, the pumps kick on.

In the late 1980s, time also began to take its toll on the Greenfield Bridge. This is the bridge over the Parkway on the western side of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. One day, large chunks of concrete began to fall onto the Parkway. Many cars were damaged; fortunately, not many people were injured. PennDOT's response to this was to string large nets around the supports of the bridge, which are are still there today.

As mentioned above, the westbound lanes of the Parkway from Stanwix Street to Grant Street are located on the same level as the Monongahela River. Between January 19 and 21, 1996, these lanes were closed down because of flooding. The rare January thaw due to temperatures into the 60s caused tremendous run-off from melting snow flooded many low lying areas including the Point.

Out of all of the people driving the Parkway on October 25, 2000, Anisa Hadiya Abdul is a unique commuter. The reason being is that came into the world just a little after midnight on that day right at the Oakland interchange. Aleeshea Cosby, mother, was leaving her job at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and was heading home. She began having pains, but did not think anything of it since she was due on November 17. Aleeshea called a friend, Sylvia White, to tell her she was going to the hospital and she might need her as a backup driver. Good thing, because her services were needed. Sylvia entered the Squirrel Hill Tunnels driving with a mother-to-be and exited with a woman in labor. White managed to pull over and to wait for city paramedics; however, little Anisa was not so patient. The 6-pound, 12-ounce baby girl measuring 18 1/2 inches long and in perfect health came before the paramedics could get to the scene.

If you were traveling the Parkways on January 11, 2001, you have my sympathy. On that day, not one but two trucks ended up getting lodged in both the Squirrel Hill and Fort Pitt Tunnels and during both rush hours. This is not the first time a truck has become wedged in either tunnel as it has happened many times over the years; however, it was the first time where it happened twice on the same day. The incident on the Parkway East started when an Ontario truck driver got his tractor trailer stuck in the Squirrel Hill Tunnel at 3:45 PM. The driver assumed that his rig would fit through the tunnel since the overheight truck warning signals did not flash, which were shut off due to mechanical problems. However, Officer Ramon Paul of the Pennsylvania State Police said that his truck was actually 14 feet, four inches; 10 inches too tall. At about 100 feet into the tunnel, the trailer became wedged against the ceiling. The driver then proceeded to back the vehicle out which added to the problems when the drive shaft broke. The first attempt to dislodge the trailer by letting the air out of the tires worked, but the trailer could only be pulled by a tow truck inches at a time. The second attempt did the trick when the towing company first pulled the trailer off the tractor and then both out shortly after 7:00 PM. By 7:20 PM, the line of vehicles that stretched all the way to Monroeville were finally moving once again.

Another unfortunate incident happened on January 28, 2001 when a tour bus heading from Steubenville, Ohio en route to the Seven Springs ski resort flipped over as it turned to head toward the Turnpike's toll plaza. Only a few were injured which was surprising because the bus slid off the highway into a wooded area off the shoulder.

The exit renumbering that took place on I-376 in the summer of 2000 was not the first for one segment of the expressway. In 1964, when the designation changed from I-70 to I-76 from the Point to the Turnpike, so did the exit numbers to commence the numbering sequence. The numbers began with Exit 22 at Stanwix Street and ended with Exit 37 at Murrysville, and afterwards Stanwix Street became Exit 1 and Murrysville became Exit 17. This sequence continued after the designation changed to I-376 in 1972.

With a highway as old as the Parkway, problems usually arise. One such problem is the cracking and shifting of a concrete retaining wall that supports the expressway's eastbound side between the Boulevard of the Allies and Bates Street. Fred Reginella, City Director of Engineering and Construction, who toured the site with PennDOT engineers in December 2001 said, "It's alarming." PennDOT District 11 Engineer Ray Hack said, "We've been monitoring the wall since summer and it's moving faster than we'd like." As a result, Hack asked the Department of Transportation administrators in Harrisburg to authorize $350,000 in extra funds for emergency repairs, and the request was granted. The 150 foot-long section was discovered in summer 2001 by PennDOT maintenance workers who noticed minor subsidence on the shoulder and slight shifts to the Jersey barrier that runs along the side of the expressway. From below the evidence is more convincing, as large pieces of concrete now lay on the ground next to the base of the wall. The contractor in charge of the repairs will drill through the wall and insert large bolts into the earth, known as "rock anchors" which might mean the closure of the far right lane at times. Hack also mentioned that the northern terminus of the Mon-Fayette Expressway is proposed to connect to the Parkway near this area, and that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission would be responsible for construction of a new wall.

One problem that was facing the City of Pittsburgh was that eastbound lanes of Fort Pitt Boulevard were crumbling. It was so bad that you could see exposed rebar driving along the highway. Also, due to years of use, the lanes began to sink forming sunken areas where water would pond in heavy rains. One of the only places where an elevated highway would flood. Because of the decrepit nature of the eastbound lanes, a detour was put in place for vehicles weighting more than eight tons. Traffic was also a problem on the Boulevard, because it was the only connection from I-279 south to I-376 east. A proposal to rebuild the eastbound lanes and to construct a direct connection to I-376 east was arranged. The project began in early 2002 with the demolition of the elevated lanes. The Interstate Connector opened on December 6, 2002 at 11 AM.

While the last leg of rehabilitation of the Fort Pitt Bridge and Tunnel were taking place, work was also performed on the segment of the Parkway from the bridge to Grant Street. Construction began on April 6 to replace the elevated section which spans the Mon Wharf Parking Lot, and the section under the Smithfield Street Bridge. This section reopened to traffic on October 1, 2003.

View of the elevated lanes being rebuilt during the Fort Pitt rehabilitation. (PennDOT)

More flooding affected the Parkway from Stanwix Street to Grant Street on November 20, 2003. The rising water was caused by a heavy line of rain showers that blanketed western Pennsylvania a day earlier. The closure of the lanes at evening rush hour caused gridlock in downtown Pittsburgh, with back-ups stretching all the way out to the Edgewood/Swissvale interchange. The lanes reopened to traffic on November 21.

With all of the flooding affecting the "bathtub" section (Grant Street to I-279) of Interstate 376, Pittsburgh Councilman Doug Shields has drawn up legislation to remedy the situation. The resolution asks PennDOT to "act immediately to resolve this matter with the appropriate solution, including but not limited to extending the height of the apparently too-low flood wall." When the expressway closes, the city has to deploy more police to handle the resulting traffic congestion. The problem is when the river reaches 21 feet, the gravity drain system's valves are closed to prevent water from backing up and flooding the Parkway. Any water that accumulates on I-376 flows into a basin where two sump pumps send it back to the river. If the river level gets to 25 feet, nothing can keep the roadway clear. The wall can't be made higher because engineers determined that six feet is as high as they could go without the whole section of expressway floating like a barge due to hydrostatic pressure. However, the section has a good track record of staying open when the Mon Wharf parking area is usually closed. The level of the Parkway can't be raised either because the minimum height clearance for Interstates is 17 feet-6 inches and there is no room to do that between Grant Street and the Fort Pitt Bridge.

On October 17, 2005, US Senator Rick Santorum and US Representative Melissa Hart made an announcement at Pittsburgh International Airport that has been years in coming. By January 1, 2009, the Interstate 376 designation will be extended westward to the airport and back to I-76 at the New Castle Interchange. Improvements to the associated expressways such as the cloverleaf at PA 60 and the designation change were included in the "Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users" highway reauthorization bill passed two months earlier. Cost for the extension is estimated at $80 million to bring the expressways to Interstate Standards, but doesn't have to be completed for 25 years and certainly not by the target date of New Year's Day 2009. The first section to see the new designation was from I-79 to I-279 when the change became official on June 10, 2009. For a time, I-279 and I-376 shields adorned the "totem pole" assemblies lining the roadway. Approximately $40 million was spent to upgrade the route to Interstate standards, including the reconfiguration of the US 22/US 30/PA 60 interchange at Robinson Town Centre. The cost could have been $190 million if PennDOT had not received design exceptions to keep several overpasses that don't comply with the 16-foot, 6-inch vertical clearance requirement.

Another year and another overheight truck gets jammed in the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. On April 2, 2006 at 4 PM, a dump truck pulling a trailer with a backhoe ignored three electronic warning signs indicating his truck was taller than the tunnel ceiling. The driver even ignored a PennDOT worker dressed in bright yellow who was jumping up and down and waving his arms at the tunnel entrance. The arm of the backhoe hit the ceiling causing minor damage, but the impact sheared the hydraulic line. Even though traffic backed up to Downtown, most drivers took it in stride. State Police rerouted eastbound traffic across the median at the tunnel's western portal and sent it back towards Downtown. PennDOT workers deflated the truck's tires and removed it by 5:30 PM which allowed the left lane to reopen while clean up took place of hydraulic fluid spill. The right lane reopened by 6 PM.

In the post-September 11 world, everything seems to be a target including the tunnels in Pittsburgh. They became the target of a bomb scare on June 1, 2007 when a call was made at 5:45 PM to Allegheny County 911 from a pay phone at Carson Street and 12th Street on the South Side. State Police and PennDOT closed the Squirrel Hill, Fort Pitt, and Liberty Tunnels. Traffic was at a standstill as police turned vehicles around at the portals. After security sweeps, the Squirrel Hill Tunnel reopened at 6:20 PM and the other two a half hour later. The FBI is now involved with the case and the phone where the call originated has been confiscated.

Many solutions have been proposed over the years to ease the bottlenecks on both sides of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel, from boring another tube to cutting away the hillside, to banning trucks at rush hours. Enter the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's newest entry: build elevated toll lanes between Downtown and Monroeville. CEO Joe Brimmeier said, "I threw it out there for its potential to get something done very quickly to bypass [the ground-level congestion at] the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. PennDOT already owns the right of way and we would find a way to tie it into the Mon-Fayette Expressway." He added the toll lanes could be an option to building the Turtle Creek-Monroeville leg of the Mon-Fayette Expressway, and no engineering studies have been done to determine if the expressway would go through, over, or around the hill that the Squirrel Hill goes through. Lane usage would be similar to other cities where HOT (high occupancy toll) lanes exist, with higher tolls during the rush hours and lower ones in non-peak hours. The proposal caught the Department of Transportation, and others, by surprise. Secretary of Transportation, and one of five members of the PTC board, Allen Biehler said in response, "The days of just willy-nilly throwing out concepts of decks over the Parkway and bypasses of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel without a thorough analysis are over. If someone wants to have incredible dreams about transportation, how about focusing on public transportation and doing things that make that option more viable for more people?" Representatives Nick Kotik of Robinson and Tom Petrone of Crafton Heights were shocked by the idea of elevated toll lanes. "It's far-fetched. It boggles my mind," said Petrone and Kotik replied, "In theory, it sounds nice, but where would the money come from to fund this? We have projects that have been on the books for years."

One issue with the burgeoning Robinson area has been the inadequate junction of the major routes that crisscross the Township. Since construction in the 1950s, the interchange where the Parkway and Steubenville Pike intersect has been a cloverleaf. However, as traffic has grown with the township, so has lane-changing and weaving at that location. The $13.7 million project began on June 8, 2009, as part of the conversion to Interstate 376, to eliminate the dangerous situation by reconfiguring the interchange. The project also included resurfacing, bridge improvements, wall construction, drainage improvements, new guide rail, curbing, highway lighting, and signing. Once completed in , the first American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or federal economic stimulus transportation funded project in Allegheny County, saw the western and eastern loops removed and replaced with signalized at-grade intersections to replace the former ramps.

Pittsburgh welcomed the world in September 2009 when President Barack Obama hosted the G-20 Summit at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Due to the heads of state traveling from the Pittsburgh International Airport into downtown, the Penn-Lincoln Parkway between was closed for each motorcade arriving on September 24 and departing on September 25. In addition, ramps to and from Interstate 376 in the Golden Triangle were closed to all traffic except for emergencies.

Western Terminus:	I-80 at Exit 4 in West Middlesex
Eastern Terminus:	I-76/PA Turnpike at Exit 57 in Monroeville
Length:	84.70 miles
National Highway System:	Entire length
Names:	Beaver Valley Expressway: Exit 1 to Exit 15 and Exit 31 to Exit 50 Benjamin Franklin Highway: Exit 12 to Exit 15 James E. Ross Highway: Exit 15 to Exit 31 Southern Expressway: Exit 50 to Exit 57 Airport Parkway: Exit 57 to Exit 60 Penn-Lincoln Parkway: Exit 60 to I-76/PA Turnpike Parkway West: Exit 57 to Exit 70 Parkway Central: Exit 70 to Exit 74 Parkway East: Exit 74 to I-76/PA Turnpike
SR Designations:	0376 7376: Exit 15 to Exit 31
Counties:	Mercer, Lawrence, Beaver, and Allegheny
Multiplexed Routes:	US 422: Exit 12 to Exit 15 US 22: Exit 60 to Business US 22 US 30: Exit 60 to Exit 78A US 19: Exit 69A to Exit 69C Truck US 19: Exit 69B to Exit 70C
Former Designations:	PA 28 (1951 - 1961): Exit 65 to Exit 69C PA 80 (1951 - 1961): Exit 78B to Exit 80 Alternate US 19 (1960 - 1961): Exit 69C to Exit 70C I-70 (1960 - 1964): Exit 64A to I-76/PA Turnpike PA 60 (1962 - 2009): Exit 57 to Exit 60 I-79 (1964 - 1972): Exit 64A to Exit 70C I-76 (1964 - 1973): Exit 70C to I-76/PA Turnpike PA 18 (1968 - 1978): Exit 1C to Exit 2 I-76 (1972 - 1973): Exit 64A to Exit 70C I-279 (1973 - 2009): Exit 64A to Exit 70C PA Toll 60 (1991 - 2008): Exit 15 to Exit 17 PA 60 (1992 - 2009): Exit 50 to Exit 57 PA Toll 60 (1992 - 2008): Exit 17 to Exit 31 PA Turnpike 60 (2008 - 2009): Exit 15 to Exit 31
Emergency:	911 (Interstate) *11 and call boxes every mile (Turnpike)
Traffic Conditions:	Pittsburgh International Airport to Fort Pitt Bridge (Eastbound) Fort Pitt Bridge (Eastbound) I-279 to Pennsylvania Turnpike (Eastbound) Pennsylvania Turnpike to I-279 (Westbound) Fort Pitt Bridge (West bound) Fort Pitt Bridge to Pittsburgh International Airport (West bound)
Traffic Cameras:	Montour Run Road Robinson Town Centre IKEA US 22/US 30/PA 60 Settlers Cabin Easbound Off-Ramp Settlers Cabin Settlers Cabin Eastbound On-Ramp Bishops Corner Campbells Run I-79 Interchange West I-79 Interchange East Rosslyn Farms Carnegie Green Tree Green Tree Hill (Top) Green Tree Hill (Middle) Banksville Road Fort Pitt Tunnel Garage Fort Pitt Tunnel Upper Portal Fort Pitt Tunnel Lower Portal Commonwealth Place Fort Pitt Boulevard Grant Street County Jail Second Avenue Brady Street Bates Street Swinburne Street Saline Street Beechwood Boulevard Commercial Street Swissvale Edgewood Brinton Road Forest Hills Wilkinsburg Greensburg Pike Churchill Penn Hills
Advisory Radio:	1640 AM: Exit 15 to Exit 31 1560 AM: Exit 64A to Exit 69C 1620 AM: Exit 69C to Exit 74 1610 AM: Exit 53 to Exit 64A and Exit 74 to Exit 85