November 24, 2025 to February 6, 2026: Commercial St and Nine Mile Run trail closure

Update 11/18: Due to a delay in the steel erection process, work and the associated closure has been postponed by one week later than the originally scheduled date. Starting at approximately 7:00 AM on Monday, November 24, Commercial Street/Forward Avenue will close to traffic between Whipple Street and Summerset Drive continuously around-the-clock until Friday, February 6, 2026. 

PennDOT is in the process of replacing the Commercial St Bridge that carries 376 over Frick Park. It’s a very complicated project, and they are now at a place where they need to close through traffic on Commercial Street itself, including to people on bikes or on foot. The nature of the construction requires a full closure as there are serious safety issues due to overhead work and other worksite hazards. PennDOT understandably wants to be sure to keep people safe.

What this means is that Nine Mile Run Trail users will still be able to use the trail, but will not be able to connect between the north and south halves of the trail at Commercial St, as you would need to cross the construction site to do so. From the South (Duck Hollow) trail users will be able to access the parking lot on Commercial St, but will need to turn around or continue up the significant climb eastbound on Commercial to Swisshelm Park. From the north (Frick Park), users will be able to get to Commercial, but again, will either need to turn around, or continue up and climb westbound on Commercial to Squirrel Hill.

Fortunately, motor vehicle through-traffic will also be prohibited on Commercial St, so traffic will be very light. Riders on Commercial may encounter construction and/or worker vehicles, or maybe maintenance workers at the Irish Center. Be aware that sidewalks are limited along Commercial St, and even with a small number of motor vehicles, it can still be dangerous.

For those who use Nine Mile Run for bike commuting between Browns Hill Rd and the East End, we recommend avoiding the area all together. This can be done fairly reasonably using Parkview Blvd through Summerset at Frick and over to Commercial St (see map).

We’d like to stress that it’s important to respect the road and construction closure for this project as it can be very dangerous to cross the site, so please plan ahead and use our Pittsburgh Bike Map site to help you with a route.

For full updates on the bridge replacement, see PennDOT’s dedicated project page.