Interstate 279

Infobox road
state=PA
type=I
route=279
maint=PennDOT

---

length_mi=19.52
length_round=2
length_ref= [http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/routefinder/table2.htm Route Log - Auxiliary Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 2] ]
established=1972
direction_a=South
terminus_a=
junction= in Pittsburgh
direction_b=North
terminus_b=
previous_type=I
previous_route=276
next_type=I
next_route=280

Interstate 279 (abbreviated I-279) is a north-south interstate highway spur that lies entirely within Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It terminates at both ends at Interstate 79, the north end being in Franklin Park and the south end in Carnegie. It primarily serves at the main access route between Pittsburgh and its northern and western suburbs. I-279 defies typical AASHTO rules in that I-79 and I-279 are "backwards" -- i.e. I-79 should head directly through Pittsburgh while I-279 bypasses it to the west (as I-79 does). In fact, for a short time, this was actually planned.

Route description

The highway is locally referred to as "Parkway North" or "Parkway West" (since the southern seven miles are more west-east than north-south) depending on one's relative position to downtown Pittsburgh. At the southern terminus of 279, the highway continues as U.S. Highway 22 and U.S. Highway 30, and after those routes split off, it becomes PA 60 leading to Pittsburgh International Airport. I-279 also has a concurrency with U.S. Route 19 Truck for 6 miles from exit 5 to exit 11. I-279 intersects Interstate 376 in downtown Pittsburgh. Interstate 579 also intersects I-279, but is only accessible by southbound traffic; likewise, traffic from I-579 can only head northbound on I-279 by the Interstate 279 Interchange. The best-known landmark on 279 is the Fort Pitt Tunnel and Bridge due to its "surprising" view of the Pittsburgh skyline. 279 also crosses the Fort Duquesne Bridge over the Allegheny River, providing easy access to Heinz Field and PNC Park. The Parkway North features two reversible HOV lanes. A related tragedy occurred in 1995 when a negligent highway worker failed to close the outbound gates, leading to a headon collision that killed six. In 2006, to help prevent a repeat of this incident, automatic "fast acting gates" were activated at the southern entrances to these HOV lanes in downtown Pittsburgh.

History

The southern portion of the highway, from the southern interchange with Interstate 79 to downtown Pittsburgh was a completed highway long before the section that runs from north of downtown, from downtown Pittsburgh to the northern interchange with Interstate 79. In fact, the I-279 designation was once used for the sections of Interstate 79 west of Pittsburgh, with the idea being that once the North Hills extension was completed, that the highway west of the city would be numbered Interstate 279, and the highway running through Pittsburgh would be numbered as Interstate 79. Plans were made to extend I-279 to its current northern terminus in Franklin Park, and construction began in the mid 1980s, and the construction concluded in September 1989. During the late 1990s and the early 2000s, several rehabilitation and construction projects were done on the Fort Pitt Bridge and the tunnels, creating detours and traffic problems during the construction projects.

Future

There has been debate as to whether or not I-279 will be slightly truncated at the Fort Pitt interchange [ [http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-376_pa.html Interstate 376 Pennsylvania @ Interstate-Guide.com ] ] , whenever the planned extension of I-376 up the current PA Route 60's alignment officially goes into effect on New Year's Day 2009. While it has been confirmed that 60 itself will be truncated at some point in Allegheny County, a final decision for I-279 hasn't been made yet. While some maps have the future truncation noted, other maps simply have I-279 remaining at status quo and being concurrent with I-376, U.S 22, and U.S 30 up to the current southern terminus with I-79.

Exit list

The entire route is in Allegheny County.

References

*DeLorme computer program

External links

* [http://www.pahighways.com/exits/I279exits.html Exit list]
* [http://www.pahighways.com/interstates/I279.html I-279]