Portions of the Fort Duquesne Bridge, the outbound Parkway East and Forbes Avenue in Oakland will close tomorrow as police officers from out of town hold a procession honoring three fallen Pittsburgh police.
Thousands of police vehicles from cities around the United States and Canada will gather in the morning at Heinz Field before proceeding across the Fort Duquesne Bridge to Interstate 376, then up Forbes Avenue to Petersen Events Center for the funeral service for Officers Eric G. Kelly, 41; Stephen J. Mayhle, 29; and Paul J. Sciullo II, 36, officials said.
The procession will be separate from the one following the officers' hearses, which will close sections of Grant Street, Downtown, as they leave the City-County Building and follow Port Authority's Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway to Oakland.
Starting at 10 a.m. and lasting approximately three hours, PennDOT will close the ramps from Route 65 and the inbound Parkway North to the Fort Duquesne Bridge, said spokesman Jim Struzzi. Traffic will be detoured to the West End Bridge.
The ramps to eastbound I-376 from Stanwix, Wood, and Grant streets also will be closed, as will the ramp from the inbound Parkway West, Struzzi said. Detours will follow the Boulevard of the Allies and traffic will rejoin I-376 further east.
Forbes Avenue will close at the Birmingham Bridge to accommodate the procession as it turns into Oakland, and the ramps onto Forbes from the Birmingham Bridge and the Boulevard of the Allies will also close, Struzzi said.
Near Heinz Field, the ramp from Ridge Avenue to Reedsdale Street and from Reedsdale Street to the tunnel beneath Route 65 will be closed.
Motorists are being advised to expect heavy delays due to the procession.
