Highland Park Bridge ramps open to traffic

Ramps at the Highland Park Bridge interchange in Aspinwall and Sharpsburg have opened to traffic, according to PennDOT.

The southbound Route 28 ramp to Highland Park Bridge; the Highland Park Bridge ramp to Freeport Road (Aspinwall Exit); and the Freeport Road ramps to northbound and southbound Route 28 have all reopened to unrestricted traffic.

The ramp work was part of an $47.31 million improvement project addressing the bottleneck and congested traffic flow on Route 28 at the Highland Park Bridge, PennDOT noted. Over the course of construction at the interchange, crews have done ramp reconstruction work, bridge rehabilitation, and drainage improvements.

The project started in late 2020. It involves reconstruction of Route 28 between North Canal Street/Kittanning Pike and Delafield Avenue. It is making two lanes in each direction through the interchange and reconstructing acceleration and deceleration ramps.

The project also consists of reconstructing the ramps at the Highland Park Bridge/Freeport Road interchange, bridge and wall preservation work, road widening, sound barrier installation and other improvements.

Lane restrictions on Route 28 and long-term ramp closures will continue to occur throughout the project, which is expected to finish this year.