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Old 12-16-2016, 07:14 AM
 
Location: Washington County, PA
4,240 posts, read 4,898,210 times
Reputation: 2859

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There are THREE Major Interchange Improvements coming to the parkway west in the coming years! FINALLY! The first is scheduled to start in 2019 and the other two are to follow.



BANKSVILLE INTERCHANGE (I-376 interchange with 51 & 19)

Work Begin: 12/15/2019 (Estimated)
Work Finished: 10/15/2021 (Estimated)
Project Cost: $62,408,000

Interchange improvement on I-376 from the Parkway Center Interchange (SR 8091) to the Fort Pitt Tunnel in the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County. Includes SR 19 (Banksville Road), SR 51 ramps and Banksville Interchange ramps (SR 8075).


http://www.projects.penndot.gov/proj...Type=TipAndTyp


From my understanding, they will completely redirect the flow of traffic into the Fort Pitt Tunnel. They plan to eliminate the weaving of 19/51 onto the parkway by having the exits for 51 North and South before Banksville merges on by adding a flyover. Penndot also plans to reconfigure the Woodville Avenue ramps to actual ramps instead of having the deplorable stop sign ramp.




GREEN TREE INTERCHANGE (I-376 interchange with 121/Green Tree Road/Parkway Center Drive)

Work Begin: IN DESIGN
Work Finished: IN DESIGN
Project Cost: $27,183,125

Reconfigure I376 Greentree and Polar Street Interchanges, Greentree and City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County.


http://www.projects.penndot.gov/proj...derDevelopment


This work is still in preliminary design, so there is a lot missing here as to what they actually plan to do. I believe they are going to eliminate the Mansfield avenue on ramp (needs to go, I've seen WAY too many accidents there). Penndot plans to make this interchange a typical "Diamond" interchange (the way it should have been built 60+ years ago.




CARNEGIE INTERCHANGE (I-376 interchange with 50)
Work Begin: IN DESIGN
Work Finished: IN DESIGN
Project Cost: $25,054,125

Construct new ramp at Carnegie Interchange from Carnegie to I376 EB, construct new bridge and new
retaining walls.


http://www.projects.penndot.gov/proj...derDevelopment


This work is still in preliminary design also, so again there is a lot missing here as to what they actually plan to do. I believe the plan is to reconfigure the on ramps from Carnegie heading into the city completely. Instead of having 15' to merge onto a busy highway, Penndot will (most likely) make the ramp turn into a third lane and connect it to the exit lane/truck lane heading up Green Tree Hill. I also believe they will extend the off ramps to proper lengths as well.








I know many on here are against highway development (Mon Fayette / Southern Beltway), but I think we can all agree on this one. The parkway west is an embarrassingly out of date highway, the one that connects our airport to our great city - and with these reasonable and fiscally sensible solutions, I think our city and metro will greatly benefit. I'm happy Penndot is taking these steps instead of bulldozing a new tunnel or some other a*****ly expensive solution.

I know Gnuttella/Crazyswboi will be all over this
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Old 12-16-2016, 07:28 AM
 
Location: East End, Pittsburgh
969 posts, read 767,285 times
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Good news for suburban drivers. Hope it's worth the $110mm+ it will cost, unfortunately highway improvements only induce more traffic so don't get too excited.
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Old 12-16-2016, 07:34 AM
 
1,139 posts, read 2,489,908 times
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I am glad that something is being considered to alleviate the major bottlenecks of the Parkway West. We are at the point now where it seems to be jammed almost always, with delays ranging from the I-79 area to Robinson Town Centre, at times.

A major source of the issues is at the Ft Pitt Tunnel with merging from Banksville and 51. All the braking is due to people changing and crossing 4 lanes to get to their destination. These ramps may allow traffic to flow more smoothly into the 2 lanes of tunnel and hopefully prevent major merging issues from the Banksville and 51 lanes.

Green Tree's small ramps have caused outbound delays, as well. I do think another issue has been the added ramps from 79 to the Parkway and then the ending "exit lane" (3rd outbound lane) at Campbell's Run Road. These cause outbound delays around the heavily traveled Robinson and 22/30 interchange.

Hopefully these much-needed improvements make a difference, as widening and expanding doesn't seem like a feasible option both financially and physically.
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Old 12-16-2016, 07:35 AM
 
5,894 posts, read 6,857,596 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xdv8 View Post
Good news for suburban drivers. Hope it's worth the $110mm+ it will cost, unfortunately highway improvements only induce more traffic so don't get too excited.
You don't even go to the airport?
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Old 12-16-2016, 08:19 AM
 
Location: East End, Pittsburgh
969 posts, read 767,285 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UKyank View Post
You don't even go to the airport?
I do. But do I think the trip is so onerous that we need to spend that kind of money for a temporary fix, no. I'd support $100mm going towards public transit improvement, but not to encourage MORE driving. People drive more when road access is improved. Do you think we need more people driving more often?
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Old 12-16-2016, 08:30 AM
 
5,894 posts, read 6,857,596 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xdv8 View Post
I do. But do I think the trip is so onerous that we need to spend that kind of money for a temporary fix, no. I'd support $100mm going towards public transit improvement, but not to encourage MORE driving. People drive more when road access is improved. Do you think we need more people driving more often?
I find attempting to update a very dated major artery into the city to some semblance of current interstate specs a worthwhile endeavor, yes.
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Old 12-16-2016, 08:44 AM
 
Location: Downtown Cranberry Twp.
41,018 posts, read 18,090,642 times
Reputation: 8528
Quote:
Originally Posted by xdv8 View Post
I do. But do I think the trip is so onerous that we need to spend that kind of money for a temporary fix, no. I'd support $100mm going towards public transit improvement, but not to encourage MORE driving. People drive more when road access is improved. Do you think we need more people driving more often?
Depending on your vehicle of choice, driving can be a pleasure.
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Old 12-16-2016, 08:52 AM
 
Location: East End, Pittsburgh
969 posts, read 767,285 times
Reputation: 1044
Quote:
Originally Posted by lifepgh2op View Post
Hopefully these much-needed improvements make a difference, as widening and expanding doesn't seem like a feasible option both financially and physically.
What makes think widening or lane expansion solves anything? More lanes just makes people drive more, it's called induced traffic and it's very real and very ignored. There is a reason why Atlanta is a sprawling mess, and a lot of it has to do with your logic. If you build bigger roads people feel more comfortable living further away creating more traffic.
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Old 12-16-2016, 08:53 AM
 
5,894 posts, read 6,857,596 times
Reputation: 4107
Quote:
Originally Posted by erieguy View Post
Depending on your vehicle of choice, driving can be a pleasure.
Personally I hate driving (must be turning into an old man) but recognize the necessity of spending money to keep major highways in our region up to date
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Old 12-16-2016, 09:11 AM
 
Location: Downtown Cranberry Twp.
41,018 posts, read 18,090,642 times
Reputation: 8528
Quote:
Originally Posted by UKyank View Post
Personally I hate driving (must be turning into an old man) but recognize the necessity of spending money to keep major highways in our region up to date
I get it. It's not for everyone.

No doubt about it. Some are just so anti-driving that they don't realize the necessity to stay up to date.
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