2 northbound lanes open on Route 28 near Highland Park Bridge

Northbound Route 28 will now be open to two lanes at the Highland Park Bridge interchange, PennDOT announced Friday.

The new northbound lane opened about 5 p.m. Friday, PennDOT said.

The lane, which aims to address congestion and the existing bottleneck, will allow for two lanes of free-flowing traffic from Pittsburgh to Kittanning.

“It is very exciting to reach this milestone of Route 28 having two lanes of unrestricted free-flow traffic after generations of transportation professionals have worked collectively on this effort for decades,” said Jason Zang, PennDOT’s District 11 executive. “We thank the men and women who worked day and night, in adverse weather conditions, next to speeding traffic to deliver this final major improvement on Route 28.”

Crews are continuing to work on southbound Route 28 — installing guardrails, sawing and sealing the roadway, and painting lines.

PennDOT expects the new southbound lane to open to traffic next week, weather permitting.

Aspinwall Council President Tim McLaughlin said the borough is excited to hear the news.

“It’s been a strain on our business community, residents, police force and infrastructure,” McLaughlin said. “Many of the navigation apps would recommend Aspinwall as a shortcut. Unfortunately, dumping thousands of cars to use our borough as a cut-through caused many folks going the wrong way down streets, cutting through alleyways and just flat out speeding. We are a walking community with many seniors and young families.

“There was always a great concern for our residents’ safety,” he said. “Our police and surrounding departments did an excellent job in ensuring our safety. Our businesses are looking forward to once again being a destination for all of Pittsburgh to shop and dine.”

From 2009 to 2014, five projects — totaling more than $100 million — aimed to address the traffic bottlenecks at the 31st and 40th Street bridges in Pittsburgh, according to PennDOT.

Those projects, which allowed for free-flow traffic leaving Pittsburgh, pushed the bottleneck to the Highland Park Bridge interchange.

The $47.31 million project’s goal is to help mitigate congestion by having two lanes in each direction on Route 28 at the interchange and enhance safety with improved entrance and exit lanes at the bridge.