After five years of reconfiguration and reconstruction, PA Route 28 reopens completely Monday.
The five-phase project, which started in 2009, rebuilt the road from Millvale to the North Side and cost $106,360,957, according to PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan.
“This project has been decades in the making,” he said. “The major features are grade separated interchanges rather than traffic signals at the intersections of the 31st and 40th Street bridges.”
He said removing the traffic lights should ease congestion along the roadway.
Other work included the installation of median barriers and two-foot shoulders on each side of the inbound and outbound lanes. Crews also extended the length of the acceleration and deceleration ramps at the 31st and 40th Street bridges.
Motorists will also notice Pittsburgh-themed artwork installed along the 1,000 feet of wall between the former rectory site of St. Nicholas Church and the pedestrian walkway that stretches over the highway. The six 14 foot high panels were sandblasted by Arizona-based artist Laurie Lundquist and installed at a cost of $143,000.
This weekend, traffic patterns were detoured while crews put the final touches on the road, including the installation of signage on Route 28 southbound between the 31st Street Bridge and the Chestnut Street overpass.
Cowan said some small construction might carry over into the spring, but closures aren’t expected.
“We do not anticipate any additional long-term restrictions,” he said. “Any work that will be done into the spring on 2015 will have minimal impacts on motorists.”
