Photos: What Pittsburgh’s Liberty Tunnel closures look like from the inside

For drivers heading in and out of the South Hills in recent weeks, the daily commute has been trying at times.

Construction on the 5,888-foot-long Liberty Tunnel has prompted 24-hour closures of first the outbound side, then the inbound.

That’s meant detours.

This story was first published by partner station WESA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

For drivers heading in and out of the South Hills in recent weeks, the daily commute has been trying at times.

Construction on the 5,888-foot-long Liberty Tunnel has prompted 24-hour closures of first the outbound side, then the inbound.

That’s meant detours.

And while commuters making their way around the tunnel closures have likely seen workers on the north and south ends of the tunnel restoring concrete facades, much of the work inside the tubes has gone unseen.

Working two 12-hour shifts a day, crews inside the tunnel have been resurfacing walls, making electrical upgrades and reconstructing the ventilation arch wall, which circulates air into the tunnel. Roughly 100 workers are involved in the day-to-day construction efforts during the closure period.

The inbound tunnel is scheduled to re-open at 6 a.m. Aug. 30, however nightly tunnel closures are expected to resume.