Driving on the parkway is one of those necessary evils of Pittsburgh living.

Whether it’s the inexplicable traffic stacking up at a tunnel or a death-defying lane change to reach an exit, the hurdles of traveling on Interstate 376 are what comes with living in a major American city.

The parkway causes frustration and anxiety. It also connects neighborhoods and suburbs, jobs and business, families and entertainment.

And for a few weeks, people are going to have to find a way around a stretch of it.

The Parkway East will be closed between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and the Edgewood-­Swissvale exit for 25 days as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation replaces the Commercial Street Bridge near the tunnel.

That will mean about 100,000 vehicles per day will have to find new ways to get people into and out of the city.

It won’t be easy. But it is important.

The $95 million project, which includes demolishing the old bridge and sliding in a new one that already has been constructed, is intended to take much less time than building a replacement from scratch on site. It’s an inconvenience of weeks instead of years of piecemeal restrictions and lane shifts.

Pittsburgh knows how long it can take to replace a bridge.

When the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed in January 2022, it took 327 days to complete the project and get Forbes Avenue moving through Frick Park again.

But that’s not the only lesson Fern Hollow can offer.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s report on the collapse put the blame on years of work that wasn’t done.

“Although maintenance and repair recommendations were repeatedly made in the bridge inspection reports, the city failed to act on several of these recommendations, which led to progressive deterioration and the collapse of the bridge,” it said.

The rerouting is the price paid for a bridge replaced with intention and forethought. It’s how a bridge is saved rather than lost.

Infrastructure is not just about investment. It’s maintenance and attention. It’s time.

Making that work isn’t just what the government does. It’s about more than construction workers and engineers.

It’s a burden we all share — and for the next 25 days, we’re all in this one together.