Interstate 279
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 Wexford, Pennsylvania and the south end in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. 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 (see "External links").
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, which eventually lead to Pittsburgh International Airport.
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.
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.
History & Future
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.
With the planned extension of I-376 up the current PA Route 60's alignment, once the changes are made, I-279 will be slightly truncated at the Fort Pitt interchange.
Cities and towns along the route (from southern terminus to northern terminus)
- Collier Township, PA
- Carnegie, PA
- Green Tree, PA
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Ross Township, PA
- Ohio Township, PA
- Franklin Park, PA
Control "cities" are:
- Pittsburgh International Airport
- Carnegie, Pennsylvania
- Downtown Pittsburgh
- North Shore (Pittsburgh)
- Erie, Pennsylvania
Exits
Shields are shown at intersections with other Interstates or United States Routes.
| Exit | Destination | |
|---|---|---|
| 1A |  Interstate 79 (north-south), United States Routes 22 and 30   (west of I-279).
| |
| 1B | West Busway (PAT Transit buses only). | |
| 2 | Pennsylvania Route 50 | |
| 4 | Pennsylvania Route 121 | |
| 5 | U.S. Route 19  , U.S. Truck Route 19, and Pennsylvania Route 51.
| |
| 6 |  Interstate 376, Boulevard of the Allies, Fort Duquesne Boulevard.
| |
| 7A/7B | U.S. Route 19 , Pennsylvania Route 65, PNC Park, Heinz Field.
| |
| 7C | East Ohio Street | |
| 8 |  Interstate 579, Pennsylvania Route 28
| |
| 9 | Hazlett Street | |
| 10 | Venture Street | |
| 11 | McKnight Road | |
| 12 | Perrysville Avenue | |
| 14 | Union Avenue | |
| 15 | Camp Horne Road | |
| 20 | Interstate 79 northbound
|
External links
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1Former | ||