Few options exist for avoiding 80-mile turnpike detour

Few options exist for drivers hoping to avoid the massive 80-mile detour along the Pennsylvania Turnpike this weekend between the New Castle and Cranberry interchanges.

The closure is planned to begin at 9 p.m. Friday and last until 4 a.m. Monday while crews demolish and replace a bridge over Brush Creek in New Sewickley.

The turnpike posted a detour that would divert drivers 80 miles north, along Interstates 376, 80 and 79.

Drivers traveling east on the turnpike from Ohio to the Pittsburgh area have another option, though it isn't ideal, said Steve Cowan, a PennDOT spokesman.

At the New Castle interchange, instead of getting on I-376 west, as the turnpike suggests, drivers can take I-376 east, toward Pittsburgh, Cowan said.

However, drivers should be aware that there are several major construction projects ongoing along that route, Cowan said, including near Pittsburgh International Airport.

For drivers traveling west toward Ohio, there are no other route options PennDOT recommends to avoid the 80-mile detour.

PennDOT does not advise drivers use Route 588 or Route 288, which partially travel parallel to the turnpike.

“Those roads are not meant for tens of thousands of vehicles,” Cowan said. “There's really not a route I'd feel comfortable with.”

Route 422, which runs between I-79 and I-376, is an option many locals will likely use.

Theresa Clift is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-5669, tclift@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tclift.