Gribblenation

Saw Mill Run Boulevard - Pennsylvania State Route 51 - runs through the narrow Saw Mill Run Valley.  It begins at the intersection of Clairton Road and Provost Road at the City of Pittsburgh Line with Brentwood.  It ends at the West End Circle at the entrance to the West End Bridge.  A four-lane highway for its entire length, Saw Mill Run Boulevard consists of interchanges at the South Portal of the Liberty Tubes and with the Parkway West.  It is an expressway from the Parkway to the West End Circle (West End Bypass).  One of the most well-known traffic tie-ups in the Pittsburgh area occurs between Maytide Street and PA 88 (Library Road) which is simply known as 'Maytide and 88.' History: Saw Mill Run Boulevard was part of the 1928 Allegheny County 'City Beautiful' bond issue.  The bonds resulted in the creation of Saw Mill Run, Ohio River, Allegheny River, and Mosside Boulevards. (1)   After the completion of the Liberty Tunnels in 1924, Dow...

For decades, residents and commuters in Pittsburgh's South Hills have waited for drastic and much needed improvements at the intersections of PA 51 and 88 in the city's Overbrook neighborhood.  From failed expressway plans and intersection redesign plans, this was one bottleneck that many thought would never go away. Well, by 2014, the notorious left lane back up on Northbound PA 51 with traffic wanting to turn onto Library Road (PA 88) , Glenbury St.,and buses wanting to access the South Busway will be no more.  The daily mess will be replaced by a two-lane jughandle which will run from near Fairhaven Road, behind the existing Rite Aid Pharmacy, and then utilize Ivyglen St.  The jughandle will be the key feature to a project that will eliminate all left turns from PA 51 at the dangerous intersection. Other improvements include a second jughandleon PA 51 South at Fairhaven Road.  This jughandle will also utilize Stewart Ave.  In addition, three structurall...

Late last month, I mentioned how I was interviewed with the Pittsburgh Suburban Weekly Newspaper - South Hills News Record on PA 51, specifically how Saw Mill Run Blvd . and Clairton Blvd. got their names. It was to publish on July 24th, but I couldn't locate it online. Well, when I spoke to Mom on the phone this evening. She told me it was indeed in the July 24th South Hill News Record, and she's saving me a copy of it. I did find the article online and it is here - " What's In a Name? " I really do need to update and upgrade the PA 51 page and this one as well.