Great Race will have great effect on traffic

In addition to the typical assortment of road construction projects, travelers this weekend will have to watch out for a horde of runners.

The 35th annual Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race will cause street closures from Squirrel Hill to Downtown Sunday morning, and more than 30 Port Authority bus routes will be detoured.

Rolling road closures will occur along the race course from about 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The 10-kilometer, 6.2-mile main course, where runners will step off at 9:30 a.m., begins in Frick Park at Beechwood Boulevard. It travels mostly downhill from there along Forbes Avenue, Fifth Avenue, Boulevard of the Allies, Fort Pitt Boulevard and Commonwealth Place before finishing in Point State Park.

A 5-kilometer, 3.1-mile course starts at Fifth Avenue and Atwood Street in Oakland and follows the same route as the 10K from there. That race begins at 8 a.m.

Race organizers recommend that runners park in Downtown Pittsburgh and take shuttle buses to the starting line.

Shuttles will leave from Stanwix Street between Penn and Liberty avenues (in front of Gateway Station) from 6:15 a.m. to 7:15 a.m. for 5K runners and 7:15 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. for 10K participants. They will run again from that location from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for runners who parked at the start lines and need to return to their vehicles.

Bus tickets cost $2.50 and can be purchased at the racepacket pickup point from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Circuit Center, 5 Hot Metal St., South Side. Port Authority passes and tickets also can be used.

Other major traffic issues this weekend:

• The inbound Squirrel Hill Tunnels will be down to one lane until 10 a.m. today for ongoing rehabilitation work. No work or restrictions will occur tonight.

• Inbound Route 28 is closed at the Millvale exit, with traffic using the off- and on-ramps as a detour, until 5 a.m. Monday.

• The Pennsylvania Turnpike will have two closures in Western Pennsylvania. The Monroeville-to-Irwin segment will close from 11:59 tonight until 5 a.m. Sunday for placement of girders for a new Route 130 bridge over the turnpike. The detour is via Route 30, Turnpike 66 and Route 22. The pike will be blocked between Somerset and Bedford from 11:30 tonight to 4 a.m. Sunday. The detour follows Routes 281, 219, 30 and 220. The closure is needed to set bridge beams for an overhead bridge at mile 132.

• The ramp connecting the Liberty Bridge to northbound Interstate 579-Crosstown Boulevard is closed through 6 a.m. Monday for wall repairs.

• Northbound Interstate 79 will be down to one lane near the Clever Road overpass in Kennedy, which is between Crafton and the Neville Island Bridge, until 3 p.m. Saturday for concrete repairs.

• Route 65 will have alternating one-way traffic between Chestnut Street and Hazel Lane in Sewickley starting at 8 tonight during paving, with the restrictions expected to cause significant delays. Work concludes by 6 a.m. Sunday.

• Banksville Road drivers face another weekend of delays as paving continues through 4 p.m. today. Traffic will be one lane in both directions from the Parkway West to Beverly and McFarland roads.