Franklin Park's Two Summers: What the Wexford Interchange Work Is Actually Doing to Your July
July 16, 2026
July 16, 2026
If you use Exit 73 regularly, July can feel like one continuous construction project. The cranes are visible during the day. Ramp lanes have shifted. Then a new overnight restriction appears just as the previous one ends.
The calmer and more useful way to read the work is to separate it into two stories.
During most daytime and peak travel periods, drivers are dealing with temporary lane geometry and reduced ramp capacity. The sharper disruptions occur on scheduled weeknights, when crews need room to place beams above I-79. Those beams are becoming the permanent northbound flyover ramps that will change how this interchange works.
The short version: Summer 2026 is the structural construction summer. Summer 2027 is when new ramps are expected to open, old ramps come out, and the corridor receives its final paving and intersection work.
That distinction explains what the Franklin Park PA Wexford Interchange summer 2026 work is actually doing to your July.
PennDOT plans to maintain three lanes of I-79 traffic in each direction during peak travel periods. Temporary ramps, lane shifts, and shorter shoulder closures help keep the corridor operating while construction continues.
The more substantial delays are tied to announced overnight work.
As of July 15, PennDOT’s current schedule calls for northbound I-79 to narrow to one lane between the Exit 73 off- and on-ramps on Wednesday, July 15, and Thursday, July 16. The restrictions are scheduled from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Four 30-minute northbound traffic stoppages are planned on each of those nights. During a stoppage, northbound traffic will be held and access to the Route 910/Wexford off-ramp will temporarily close. The ramp is expected to reopen when traffic is released.
PennDOT has warned that significant congestion may occur during these stoppages. The schedule is weather-dependent, so it should be confirmed before an evening trip rather than treated as fixed.
This is the first practical takeaway: a daytime drive through Exit 73 and a weeknight drive after 7 p.m. may be very different experiences. There is no verified blanket estimate for how many minutes construction will add. The more reliable plan is to check current conditions and leave flexibility when overnight work is active.
Route 910 has an around-the-clock configuration that is expected to remain through early August. The changes are concentrated between Nicholson Road and the I-79 ramps.
| Movement | Current configuration |
|---|---|
| Westbound Wexford Bayne Road to southbound I-79 | One of the two turning lanes is closed |
| Southbound I-79 on-ramp | Reduced to one lane |
| Eastbound Wexford Bayne Road between Nicholson Road and the southbound on-ramp | The second through lane has reopened |
| Eastbound right turn to southbound I-79 | Remains open |
The southbound ramps have their own temporary geometry through approximately mid-August. The left- and right-turn portions of the southbound off-ramp remain separated while crews work in the center section. All turn movements are still accommodated.
The southbound on-ramp has also shifted onto new pavement so crews can reconstruct the old ramp pavement. Northbound ramps remain in their current configuration while the new structures are built.
For residents approaching from Nicholson Road, Brandt School Road, VIP Drive, or the Soergel Orchards and Franklin Park Village area, the issue during the day is often less about a formal closure and more about reduced capacity and unfamiliar lane placement. That calls for an earlier lane decision and a little more space between vehicles.
The visible work is more substantial than resurfacing.
PennDOT’s 2026 construction plan scheduled beam installation for the new northbound off-ramp from June 29 through July 17. Bridge-deck installation, retaining-wall construction, and ramp tie-ins are expected to follow during the remainder of 2026.
PennDOT’s July 7 progress update identifies active work on the new northbound off-ramp. Earlier project images show the piers, abutments, and initial beam placements. Together, those elements will support two new flyover structures.
The completed design will relocate the northbound I-79 entrance and exit movements to the west side of the interstate, alongside the southbound ramps. The existing northbound ramps and their separate Route 910 traffic signal are then scheduled for removal.
That is why some overnight restrictions are unavoidable. Crews are placing permanent structural components over active interstate lanes, so the most intrusive work is being concentrated in off-peak hours.
The finished configuration is called a full-offset single-point urban interchange, often shortened to SPUI.
The current interchange has two closely spaced ramp intersections along Route 910. The new design consolidates the primary ramp movements at one main intersection. It also allows opposing left turns to operate together and uses fewer principal traffic-signal phases.
In practical terms, one coordinated intersection can provide more usable green time than two closely spaced intersections that must each process ramp and through traffic.
The design also places Brandt School Road and VIP Drive more than 1,000 feet from the consolidated I-79 ramp intersection. PennDOT has said the eventual signal system will be adaptive, allowing its timing to respond to traffic instead of holding one movement when competing traffic is light.
There may be a learning period when the new ramps open. Drivers will be approaching familiar destinations through a different interchange pattern. The long-term purpose, however, is straightforward: reduce the stop-and-start interaction between ramp queues, Route 910 traffic, and the I-79 mainline.
It is easy to describe the existing problem as too many stoplights. PennDOT’s design materials identify a more specific mechanism.
Traffic waiting at the ramp intersections can form a queue long enough to interfere with another intersection or reach back toward I-79. That queue spillback contributes to recurring congestion, longer intersection delays, unreliable travel times, and pressure near Brandt School Road and VIP Drive.
PennDOT’s historical design analysis reviewed 290 crashes from 2017 through 2019. It reported that 85 percent were rear-end, fixed-object, or angle crashes, with many considered likely related to congestion. These are historical planning figures rather than current crash statistics, but they help explain why the project focuses on both traffic flow and conflict reduction.
The approximately $46.5 million project began in August 2025, with Golden Triangle Construction Company serving as prime contractor. Its limits extend along I-79 from roughly 1.5 miles north of the I-79 and I-279 split to Mingo Road. On Route 910, the work runs between Nicholson Road and Brandt School Road and VIP Drive.
The project schedule becomes easier to understand when 2026 and 2027 are treated as different phases rather than one long period of road work.
The current phase includes:
This is the phase creating the structure that drivers can see but cannot use yet.
PennDOT’s phasing plan calls for the new I-79 flyover ramps to open in spring 2027. The old northbound ramps are then scheduled for removal, followed by final paving on the interstate and ramp connections.
Remaining work is expected to include:
PennDOT’s public materials give slightly different specific completion dates, with one listing September 2027 and another listing October 14, 2027. The responsible way to state the schedule is that completion is anticipated in fall 2027.
Construction schedules can change quickly, so a simple routine is more useful than trying to memorize every restriction.
Before an evening trip: Check 511PA for current speeds, closures, and traffic cameras. Pay particular attention to announced work after 7 p.m.
Approaching Wexford Bayne Road: Expect reduced ramp capacity and choose the needed lane early. The temporary pattern may feel different even when every required movement remains open.
When a ramp closure is announced: Follow PennDOT’s posted route rather than relying on an improvised residential cut-through. For the July 13 northbound Exit 73 closure, the official detour continued to the Route 19/Warrendale Exit 75, used Warrendale Bayne Road to return to southbound I-79, and then exited at Route 910. Future instructions may differ.
For North Allegheny households: Franklin Park and Marshall Township are both within the North Allegheny School District, along with McCandless and Bradford Woods. Families traveling among these communities may use the same I-79 and Route 910 corridors even when their individual school assignments differ. Franklin Elementary and Ingomar Elementary are local district schools, but attendance assignments should always be verified directly with the district for a specific address.
For timely updates: PennDOT maintains a project email list for I-79 advisories. Its Wexford Interchange project page also collects current releases, progress images, and construction documents.
This July is not an early version of the finished interchange. It is a temporary operating pattern designed to keep traffic moving while permanent ramps are built overhead.
Daytime drivers are primarily seeing lane shifts, separated ramp movements, and reduced turning capacity. Evening drivers on scheduled work nights face the greater possibility of substantial delay. Next summer introduces a different phase, when traffic begins moving onto the new ramps and crews turn to removing old infrastructure and finishing Route 910.
Understanding that sequence does not remove the inconvenience. It does make the work more legible. The cranes near Exit 73 are building the mechanism intended to address the queue that has made this interchange unreliable in the first place.
As a Franklin Park resident since 2006, I know that small changes in timing and route choice can affect an entire day of appointments, activities, and errands. I bring that same local attention to every real estate decision, with clear communication, careful planning, and timely updates from the first conversation through closing.
If a move within Franklin Park, the North Allegheny School District, or the surrounding North Hills is part of your plans, I would be glad to serve as your advocate and guide. Let’s Connect.
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Emily brings a lifetime’s worth of market knowledge and valuable insight into local school districts, property values, neighborhoods, and subdivisions. This provides her clients with helpful guidance pertaining to Franklin Park, North Hills, Marshall, Bradford Woods, Richland, Pittsburgh and the surrounding communities.