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Draft Week Road Closures, Public Transit & Parking: What to Expect April 23-25, 2026

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NFL Draft Road Closures: PennDOT Announces State Road Closures

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is announcing several state-owned roadways will close for the NFL draft in the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County beginning Monday, April 13, and remain closed for the duration of the Draft, unless otherwise noted.

The event is expected to be extremely well attended. PennDOT encourages fans to plan in advance and to take mass transit, which may be the most efficient way to travel between Draft events. A comprehensive transportation guide including public transportation, parking, road closures, and other travel information for the NFL Draft can be found at NFLDraftPittsburgh.com. PennDOT also encourages drivers not attending Draft Week events to delay unnecessary travel to Pittsburgh or consider alternate routes around the city. Drivers should allow extra travel time, be patient, and remain calm and courteous.

The following state roadways and ramps will close to traffic, and drivers will be detoured according to the following schedule:

Monday, April 13 at approximately 8:00 PM:

• Southbound I-279 (Parkway North) ramp to the North Shore (Exit 1B).

Monday, April 20 at approximately 8:00 PM:

• Northbound I-279 (Upper deck of the Fort Duquesne Bridge) left-hand ramp to the North Shore (Reedsdale Street – Exit 1B).

Monday, April 20 at approximately 10:00 PM:

• The I-279 and I-579 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes will close to traffic to accommodate emergency vehicle and bus traffic. All other vehicles will be prohibited. The HOV lanes will reopen to traffic Monday morning, April 27.

Wednesday, April 22 at approximately 8:00 PM:

• Southbound Route 65 ramp to the Fort Duquesne Bridge.
• Northbound I-279 (Fort Duquesne Bridge) ramp to northbound Route 65.
• 10^th Street Bypass ramp to the I-279 Portal Bridge.
• Eastbound I-376 ramp to Liberty Avenue (Exit 70A).
• Liberty Avenue to I-376 (Fort Pitt Bridge).
• Allegheny Avenue/Ridge Avenue/Reedsdale Street ramp to the Fort Duquesne Bridge.

The following detours will be in place:

Southbound I-279 (Parkway North) ramp the North Shore (Exit 1B)

• No detour route will be provided as all local roadways off the exit are closed to traffic. However, the ramp will reopen to traffic for specific Pirate games listed below.

Northbound I-279 (Upper deck of the Fort Duquesne Bridge) left-hand ramp to the North Shore (Reedsdale Street – Exit 1B)

• No detour route will be provided as all local roadways off the exit are closed to traffic.

Southbound Route 65 ramp to the Fort Duquesne Bridge

• From southbound Route 65, continue straight onto the ramp to North 28/North 279/Truck North 19
• Merge onto northbound I-279 (Parkway North)
• Take the Hazlett Street (Exit 3) off-ramp
• Turn left onto East Street
• Turn right onto the ramp to southbound I-279 at Venture Street
• Follow I-279 southbound back to the Fort Duquesne Bridge
• End detour

Northbound I-279 (Fort Duquesne Bridge) to northbound Route 65

• From the upper deck of the Fort Duquesne Bridge, continue to North 28/279
• From northbound I-279 (Parkway North), take the ramp to North 28 toward Chestnut Street/East Ohio Street/Etna (Exit 1D)
• From northbound Route 28, take the left-hand off-ramp to North 279 toward East Ohio Street
• At the traffic light, turn left onto East Ohio Street
• Turn left onto the ramp to southbound I-279
• From southbound I-279 take the ramp to North 65 toward Ohio River Boulevard (Exit 1C)
• End detour

10^th Street Bypass to the I-279 Portal Bridge

• From westbound 10^th Street Bypass, turn left onto Fort Duquesne Boulevard
• Turn left onto 9^th Street
• Turn right onto Liberty Avenue
• Turn left onto Stanwix Street
• Take the ramp to West 376 toward the Fort Pitt Bridge/Airport
• End detour

Eastbound I-376 ramp to Liberty Avenue (Exit 70A)

• From eastbound I-376, take the ramp to the Boulevard of the Allies/Liberty Bridge/PPG Arena (Exit 70A)
• Take the ramp to the Boulevard of the Allies
• Turn left onto Stanwix Street
• Follow Stanwix Street to Liberty Avenue
• End detour

Liberty Avenue to westbound I-376 (Fort Pitt Bridge)

• From Liberty Avenue, turn left onto Stanwix Street
• Take the ramp to West 376 toward the Fort Pitt Bridge/Airport
• End detour

Allegheny Avenue/Ridge Avenue/Reedsdale Street ramp to the Fort Duquesne Bridge

• No detour route will be provided as Allegheny Avenue and Reedsdale Street will be closed. Ridge Avenue will remain open. Drivers can access southbound Route 65 at the West End Bridge interchange.

Additional items of note:

• To accommodate Pittsburgh Pirates traffic, the southbound I-279 (Parkway North) ramp to the North Shore (Exit 1B) will reopen and close each day from Friday through Sunday, April 17-19. The ramp will reopen to traffic accessing Red Garage 5 and Champions Garage approximately five hours before the first pitch and will then reclose one-half hour after the first pitch of each game.
• Line striping work is currently scheduled to begin on Saturday, April 18 on the northbound (upper deck) Fort Duquesne Bridge. The bridge will be reduced to two lanes of traffic during the work and the new two-lane traffic configuration will be implemented on Wednesday, April 22.
• The I-376 Fort Pitt Bridge sidewalk will close to pedestrian traffic on Wednesday, April 22.
• The northbound I-279 (Parkway North) ramp to northbound Route 28 (Ramp 1D) will be modified to two lanes of traffic.
• Lane restrictions will occur throughout the draft in both directions of the Portal Bridge which spans a portion of Point State Park.
• For those visiting Pittsburgh, the section of I-279 (Parkway North) just north of the Fort Duquesne Bridge is occasionally referred to as the North Shore Expressway.

Significant congestion is expected to occur during this event. PennDOT encourages drivers not attending draft week events to delay unnecessary travel to Pittsburgh or consider alternate routes around the city. Drivers should allow extra travel time, be patient, and remain calm and courteous. Together we’ll keep our roadways safe.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 860 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.