University Times

Outbound lanes from Downtown on the Boulevard of the Allies will be closed beginning May 22 at 9 a.m. while the state Department of Transportation (PennDOT) repairs a 1.6-mile stretch of roadway.

PennDOT will repave the Boulevard between the Liberty and Birmingham bridges and anchor the road to the hillside. Outbound lanes are expected to remain closed until January, according to PennDOT officials.

Inbound traffic between Moultrie Street and the Liberty Bridge will be restricted to one lane during the project. There will be intermittent total closure of the Boulevard on weekends.

Oakland-bound drivers will be detoured to the Parkway East (Interstate 376) by way of Grant Street in Downtown.

Last week, PennDOT crews closed the right, third lane of the Parkway East inbound to use for equipment storage and staging during the project. This one-lane, quarter-mile stretch of the Parkway between exits for the Boulevard of the Allies and Second Avenue is expected to re-open June 30, according to PennDOT officials.

Other detours set up for this construction project include:

* Traffic from the Liberty Bridge will be routed left from the bridge-Boulevard intersection to access the I-376 Parkway East on-ramp at Grant Street.

* Traffic from Route 51 northbound that normally uses the Liberty Bridge to access the Boulevard will be detoured north along Route 51 to I-279 North through the Fort Pitt Tunnels to I-376 east.

* Traffic from Route 51 southbound that normally uses the Liberty Bridge to access the Boulevard will be detoured to I-279 North and through the Fort Pitt Tunnels to I-373 east at Wood Street.

* Traffic from I-579 southbound to I-376 east will be detoured to exit either the Sixth of Seventh avenue ramp onto Grant Street. From Grant Street, traffic will access the I-376 on ramp.