Inbound Armstrong Tunnel closed as yearlong rehab project begins

Motorists who regularly use the Armstrong Tunnel have to find another way to drive into Downtown Pittsburgh for at least the next year.

The inbound side of the tunnel closed Saturday and isn’t scheduled to reopen until winter 2024.

When the inbound side reopens, crews will close the outbound tunnel and adjacent sidewalk. That shutdown is expected to last until spring 2025.

It’s all part of a $13.1 million rehabilitation project.

Cars are now detoured onto Second Avenue, Ross Street, and Forbes Avenue.

Trucks are required to use Second Avenue, B Street, First Avenue, Grant Street, Boulevard of the Allies, Commonwealth Place, Liberty Avenue, Fifth Avenue, Sixth Avenue, and Forbes Avenue.

The rehabilitation project impacts an average of a little more than 11,000 vehicles that use the tunnel daily.

Allegheny County’s Public Works Department said the work is necessary after recent inspections showed that the deterioration of the tunnel’s concrete, ceramic tile liner and lighting fixtures needed to be dealt with. Its safety systems also should be brought up to current standards.

After the tunnels reopen, they will have a new configuration intended to slow traffic and improve safety.

Currently, there are two 10-foot-wide lanes with no shoulders in each tunnel.

When the rehab work is done, the inbound tunnel will have one 12-foot lane with 2-to-3 foot shoulders. At the tunnel exit, there will be a left-turn lane and a straight/right-turn lane.

In the outbound tunnel, the existing 3-foot-9 inch sidewalk will be widened to 6 feet, 3 inches except at its entrances.

The 1,298-foot-long tunnel opened in 1927. It was named after former County Commissioner and Pittsburgh Mayor Joseph G. Armstrong and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

It was last rehabilitated between 1989 and 1991.