What keeps sending northbound I-79 traffic at Wexford back onto the highway? Two traffic signals sit close together on Route 910, one on each side of the interstate, and drivers have to stop at both. The $46.5 million rebuild now underway at Exit 73 fixes that by getting rid of one of the signals, and it is sized for the much heavier Route 910 that PennDOT expects to see by 2045.
Two stoplights, one bottleneck
The interchange sits on the line between Franklin Park Borough and Marshall Township. Right now it has a signalized intersection on each side of I-79. WPXI explained it this way when work began in August 2025: the two stoplights make drivers stop twice while queues build behind them. PennDOT said lengthening the off-ramp is meant to keep that traffic from backing onto I-79 and to cut down on crashes tied to the signals.
Those queues have caused crashes. PennDOT's public meeting materials count 290 crashes at the interchange from 2017 through 2019. Eighty-five percent were rear-end, fixed-object or angle crashes, and the agency considers most of them likely linked to congestion. The same materials list recurring congestion, long delays, ramp queues spilling onto I-79 and unreliable travel times as the problems the project has to solve.
TribLive's coverage of the groundbreaking shows how far the backup can stretch. A Soergel Orchards executive told the paper that northbound traffic has backed up the full two miles to the I-79/I-279 split. In the same article, Marshall Township supervisors chairman Tom Madigan blamed the congestion on closely spaced signals and growth across the North Hills. He described the interchange as the funnel that carries traffic from the wider region onto Route 910.
The fix moves the northbound ramps to the other side of I-79
The design does more than lengthen the ramps. According to TribLive, the current northbound off-ramp, the northbound on-ramp and the signal that serves them on the east side of the highway will all be removed. Two new bridges will cross the interstate in their place. One, south of Route 910, carries drivers exiting northbound I-79. The other, north of Route 910, carries drivers getting on to head north. Both bridges, and the existing southbound ramps, meet at a single intersection on the western side of the Route 910 bridge.
PennDOT calls this a full offset single-point urban interchange. Doug Seeley, PennDOT's assistant district executive for design, told TribLive it will be one of only a few in Pennsylvania and the first in District 11, which covers Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties.
"It's going to make a big improvement for the area. It's going to be a nice change for the folks that utilize that interchange."
Doug Seeley, PennDOT, speaking to TribLive
The rest of the work matters to anyone who drives through every day. It includes new signals, new highway lighting, drainage, signing and guide rail, plus preservation work on the existing bridge that carries Route 910 over I-79. Golden Triangle Construction Company is the prime contractor. Residents also had a say in how it looks. PennDOT ran an aesthetic survey, and the winning combination was blue with chiseled cut ashlar stone.
The design is sized for 2045
This is why the rebuild is so large. TribLive reported Route 910 carried 17,350 vehicles a day in 2022 and 19,000 in 2024. PennDOT projects 34,500 a day by 2045, an increase of about 82 percent over the 2024 count. Franklin Park Borough Manager Zachary Filous told the paper the area had struggled to keep up with growth, and he described the redesign as a way to ease the backups.
Planning for that 2045 volume explains the lane counts in PennDOT's finished design, as presented at its September 2025 public meeting. The details below are the planned layout and could still be adjusted during construction:
- Eastbound Route 910: two left-turn lanes to northbound I-79, two through lanes and a right lane to southbound I-79.
- Westbound Route 910: a right turn to northbound I-79, one through lane and two left-turn lanes to southbound I-79.
- Exiting northbound I-79: the far-left lane for westbound Route 910, and the middle and right lanes for eastbound Route 910.
- Westbound past Brandt School Road and VIP Drive: the through lanes widen to three after the intersection, and the far-right lane feeds the new northbound I-79 on-ramp.
The double left turns are the change daily drivers will notice most. Turning onto northbound I-79 from eastbound 910, and onto southbound I-79 from westbound 910, each get two lanes, and all of those turns happen at one signal.
Where things stand this October
As of mid-October 2026, construction is a little more than a year along. PennDOT's project page, last updated October 9, 2026, still lists a proposed end of October 2027. Here is how the work has gone so far, based on PennDOT's May 26, 2026 phasing briefing and its later press releases:
- August 18, 2025: physical work begins under a contract worth $46,504,526.75.
- March through April 2026: caisson drilling and substructure work for the new northbound on-ramp.
- May 25, 2026: PennDOT marks Traffic Phase 1B complete on Route 910, including temporary signal work at Wexford Bayne Road and Nicholson Road.
- May 28 through July 17, 2026: beams go in on both new flyovers, first Ramp D for the on-ramp and then Ramp C for the off-ramp.
- August 28 and 29, 2026: traffic from Route 910 to northbound I-79 moves onto a temporary ramp, and eastbound Route 910 is no longer shifted.
- September and October 2026: overnight lane restrictions on I-79 for deck placement. A restriction planned for September 23 was pushed to September 24 and 25.
The latest notice affects tonight's drive. PennDOT's October 6 release calls for single-lane traffic in both directions of I-79 between the Exit 73 ramps from 7 p.m. Monday, October 12, until 6 a.m. Tuesday, October 13, for deck placement and patching, weather permitting. That follows a similar closure on the night of October 9. In general, PennDOT expects to keep three lanes open in each direction during peak travel times and to use temporary ramps so most access stays open.
The winter window, then spring 2027
PennDOT's construction presentation bars long-term lane restrictions from November 1 through April 1. That rule only limits extended lane closures. It doesn't mean all work stops for the winter, so short-term closures may still show up on the schedule.
The big change comes after that. PennDOT's phasing documents schedule the new flyover ramps to open, and the old eastside ramps to come out, in spring 2027. The briefing lists October 14, 2027 as the anticipated completion date, and the project page says work will continue through the 2027 construction season. These are planned dates, and PennDOT has already rescheduled individual nights. The project page lists the latest restriction notices and offers a public comment form, and it names Zachary Kamnikar as PennDOT's project manager.
A rebuilt Exit 73 changes the daily drive between Wexford and the I-79 corridor, and that drive can come up when you list your home. If you're thinking about how the 2027 interchange could figure into your plans, Pittsburgh Property Shark can walk you through what it could mean for your street. Start with your Instant Home Valuation.
