Both sides of the Armstrong Tunnel will be open and flowing with traffic beginning Thursday morning. After more than two years and a $13 million rehabilitation, cars and trucks won’t have to detour into Downtown to get from the South Side into Uptown and beyond.
The Armstrong Tunnel is now fixed, cleaned up and down to one lane in either direction with wider shoulders. Inside the tunnel, fireproof walls line the sides, the lighting is brighter, and repairs have been made to the tunnel’s aging concrete structure.
Workers installed a new electrical system including CCTV monitoring and a fiber-optic heat detection system to pick up crashes or fires. And they expanded the sidewalk on most of the outbound side of the tunnel and put in fresh pavement signs and road markings. Outside, the stone masonry on the tunnel exits have been sandblasted to a clean gray.
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato and U.S. Representative Summer Lee gathered with workers and elected officials to celebrate the renovation’s finish line.
“This new Armstrong Tunnel is a much safer experience for drivers, for bikers, and pedestrians alike,” Innamorato said. “And that's what good infrastructure is. It keeps us safe, it keeps us moving, it creates jobs, it helps people get to and from their jobs and everything in between.”
The Armstrong Tunnel was built in 1927 and prior to its renovation served as a portal for more than 11,000 vehicles every day between Second Avenue and Forbes Avenue. The last time it had been fixed up was between 1989 and 1991.
The Federal Highway Administration paid for about 80% of the repairs — including $1.25 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed under the Biden Administration. Allegheny County chipped in the rest.
“For decades, we know that infrastructure has reflected deep inequality,” Lee said. “Who gets the smooth roads? Who gets other safer sidewalks? The lighting, the streetlights, who doesn't? Projects like this help to close those gaps.”
Pedestrians will have to wait until September to stroll through the renovated tunnel. The outbound sidewalk will remain closed due to Duquesne University's work on the Fisher Hall pedestrian bridge.
