Commute Traffic from various areas of Pittsburgh (New Castle, Washington: 2014, construction)

[marriott001]

I currently drive in from 79 - 279 daily going south from New Castle area, and find the congestion down on 279 sometimes rougher than other times. I haven't yet decided where to consider moving to in the area and wanted to get some info regarding the congestion and commutes from the other areas of the city (east, west, south). Right now I work downtown by Market Square, but I'm looking for some more general info regarding the commutes from the various outskirts of the city.

It seems like West has the tunnels and North has the 279 on ramps that get contested every day it seems.

[I_Like_Spam]

Unless you want to move right into the city itself, the north is without a doubt the easiest automobile commute- in spite of the current constructionary work out on I279.

The South Hills has tunnels as well, Ohio River Blvd is closed to the northwest and work continues on 28 up the Allegheny. And the Parkway East/ Squirrel Hill Tunnels have been a real character builder since the 1960's.

From the east end its a shorter drive and the East Busway routes provide good, quick service if you want to transit it. Or you can go for the northside or close North Hills, and you'd avoid most of the headaches associated with the far north commutes.

[greg42]

Can't say what it will be in future configurations of the construction work, but the current setup for the Rt 28 commute is actually pretty good from what I hear, at least for inbound. I haven't driven it at rush.

279 is still a better commute than 376 from east or west. Rt 65 is okay normally but they've got a bridge construction going on right now. The bridge work that's happening now on 79 at Warrendale (it's moved one bridge north now) appears to be rather short term. I expect it to be complete within a few weeks. The main 279 congestion is at worst from Camp Horne to about Perrysville Ave as the 3 lanes to 2 lanes squeeze works itself out. And it's worst about 8:00-8:30 or so. Sometimes the lower part, from the McKnight entrance on down to the Veterans Bridge ramp, is slow and sometimes it isn't as slow. Still beats the long lineups on the other sides of the tunnels. Outbound it's mostly sorted by McKnight and then maybe another little slowdown around Perrysville Ave (there's a squeeze there 3 lanes to 2) to maybe around Bellevue/West View and that's about it.

The best way to shorten your commute is to move significantly closer, either in the city or closer suburbs like West View, Bellevue, Millvale, etc.

[hornet67]

You are currently taking, by far, the best commuting route into downtown. The worst has to be the Parkway East, in no small part due to the clueless bozos who insist upon slowing down in the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. Even non-rush hour, that road is very often backed up.
I live in the South Hills, and when I commuted to downtown, I went via Banksville Road; normally backed up, but not all that bad. I always avoided the Parkway West inbound, but would often take that route outbound in the evening. The other main southern route, Rt 51, is awful.

[youngabe]

Do what I did, move to Mt. Washington! I was driving in and out of Downtown for 3 years from near Apollo. My options were either Route 28 or the Parkway East. I now am in walking distance to work--if I really felt like walking 1.5 miles, I could.

Everyone has different thoughts on commuting. For me, commuting was my own personal hell. I spent so much time in my vehicle, the stress of the road in general, the cost of gas, wear and tear on my vehicle, etc.

If I were you, I would try to get as close to work as possible. If you don't want to be in the city limits, maybe try Reserve Township, Shaler, Ross, etc. to the north. You could always look at Kennedy Township and parts of Robinson Township too. Anyone who looks at map can easily find the common way around the Parkway West in those communities.

Just my two cents, but if you're moving, do it right, do yourself a favor.

[gg]

Originally Posted by greg42

Can't say what it will be in future configurations of the construction work, but the current setup for the Rt 28 commute is actually pretty good from what I hear, at least for inbound.

28 is better than ever. I thought it was going to be a total nightmare, but they managed to do pretty well for it during construction. Even outbound is better with the one lane and no stops than two lanes with the dumb lights that shouldn't be there in the first place.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

28 is better than ever. I thought it was going to be a total nightmare, but they managed to do pretty well for it during construction. Even outbound is better with the one lane and no stops than two lanes with the dumb lights that shouldn't be there in the first place.

Agreed it is now better than ever. We could have saved a bunch of money and just closed down Rialto street.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

28 is better than ever. I thought it was going to be a total nightmare, but they managed to do pretty well for it during construction. Even outbound is better with the one lane and no stops than two lanes with the dumb lights that shouldn't be there in the first place.

Originally Posted by robrobrob

Agreed it is now better than ever.

Route 28 is awesome! Who woud have imagined a road would improve DURING construction. It's going to be even more amazing when the construction is done.

Originally Posted by robrobrob

We could have saved a bunch of money and just closed down Rialto street.

That's true. It's closed during the winter anyway. Why bother keeping it? Very few vehicles use it.

[greg42]

It's not just Rialto, though. Had to eliminate that light at the 31st Street Bridge (and the one at 40th on the southbound).

Just be aware that before it's done (in 2014, I think it is?) a change in the construction configuration could make traffic worse again before it gets better.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by greg42

Just be aware that before it's done (in 2014, I think it is?) a change in the construction configuration could make traffic worse again before it gets better.

They've already switched to the traffic pattern that will last throughout the final phase. Drove it yesterday. It's still awesome.

Route 28 work enters final phase —*of three years - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review