- May 1st, 2026
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Major citywide travel route disruptions throughout morning/afternoon for Pittsburgh Marathon event. Most roads will reopen gradually by late afternoon Sunday, May 3. Oakland area impacted between approximately 6:15 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.
Most closures have begun as early as 5:30 a.m. this morning, Sunday, May 3, with additional rolling closures beginning throughout the morning with as late as 9:45 a.m. closure start times.
Limited access and detours will be in place throughout the city restricting access to North Shore, PNC Park area, and Casino routes.
Road Closures:
The sector map linked here demonstrates primary route closures, but please note that all times are approximate and subject to change.
For Oakland and adjacent neighborhoods, Sector J (Oakland) and H (Uptown) will experience closures from 6:15 a.m. through 11:45 a.m., and Sector K (Shadyside) will experience closures from 6:30 a.m. through 12:00 p.m.
Travel routes getting into and out of the city during the event are limited due to the race's utilization of primary roadways through many key arteries, so refer to this document from the Pittsburgh Marathon for suggested routes to reach (or circumvent) the city from the I-279 Parkway North, Route 65, I-376 Parkway East/West inbound, and Rt 28.
If you're planning to be Downtown or the North Shore at any time during the event, please refer to the Downtown Closure Map or review the Sunday Course Map itself to help make decisions on how to best reach your destination (including considering parking your car outside of the area and walking, biking, or riding transit to your final destination.
Transit:
Pittsburgh Regional Transit is operating according to regular weekend schedule with extensive detours as a result of race-route related road closures, so transit riders should expect to allow for additional travel times.
61 bus routes will be detoured extensively throughout the day and will also arrive/depart from a temporary terminus on the East Busway at Penn Station. Please refer to the PRT website for all specific route detour information.
For Oakland & Squirrel Hill transit riders: PRT has established a temporary 84M Oakland-Squirrel Hill Marathon Shuttle running on Sunday, May 3 because virtually all of Pittsburgh Regional Transit routes that serve Squirrel Hill and Oakland between their outer destinations and Downtown Pittsburgh are detoured during the event and cannot provide the necessary service to/from these neighborhoods. The temporary 84M to meet all detoured Oakland/Squirrel Hill routes at a common terminus in Squirrel Hill and provide free transfer to Oakland and incorporation with other bus detours in that area for further travel into Downtown Pittsburgh.
Due to ongoing closure of the Charles Anderson Bridge between Panther Hollow Road and Boulevard of the Allies, this temporary route follows a different path than in previous years. 84M service will began at approximately 5:22 a.m. and run at 26-minute intervals initially before reducing to 13-minute intervals throughout the morning/afternoon until event closures end around 2:30 p.m. The shuttle service is free, with all normal fares to be collected on standard PRT bus routes.
Inbound stop locations: Beacon at Hobart, Hobart at Bartlett (Farside), Bates at Atwood, Atwood opposite Louisa, Atwood at Sennott, Sennott at Oakland
Outbound stop locations: Sennott at Oakland, Oakland at Bates, Bates at Semple, Bates at Blvd of the Allies, Hobart opposite Beacon, Hobart at Murdoch, Hobart at Wightman, Beacon at Wightman (Farside), Beacon at Murdoch
Other temporary transit routing impacts include:
All detoured PRT bus routes must be relocated to the bus/rail facility on the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway adjacent to the former Pennsylvania Railroad Station above the juncture of Grant Street and Liberty Avenue. This will be the only bus stop in Downtown Pittsburgh for all routes from the start of service through approximately 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 3.
PRT has noted that in order to remain consistent with routings, all bus routes will REMAIN ON DETOUR until the last runner clears Liberty Avenue on their way to Smithfield Street—expected at approximately 3:30 p.m. An additional hour is expected to be required for cleaning and barricade removal before most bus routes are then returned to regular routes within their communities and Downtown. The entire list of impacted routes and their detours are summarized on the PRT website here.
And though races will be completed around that time, other ongoing event festivities downtown will continue throughout the afternoon, so select routes Downtown will continue to be blocked from accessing the Boulevard of the Allies, Commonwealth Place, and Fort Pitt Bridge access ramps requiring ongoing detours for a few routes including 67-Monroeville, 77-Penn Hills, 56-Lincoln Place, 57-Hazelwood, 58-Greenfield, 39-Brookline, 40-Mount Washington, 41-Bower Hill, 43-Bailey, 44-Knoxville, 48-Arlington, 51-Carrick, Y46-Elizabeth Flyer, Y49-Prospect Flyer, 36-Banksville, 38-Green Tree, 29-Robinson, 31-Bridgeville, G2-West Busway, 28X-Airport Flyer, 26-Chartiers, 27-Fairywood, 20-Kennedy, 21-Coraoplis, 22-McCoy, and 24-West Park.
Establishment of temporary Penn Station/Steel Plaza Station rail shuttle.
With the establishment of temporary light rail "bridge service", passengers will be able to travel to/from Allegheny Station and the light rail station on the East Busway at Penn Station on the bus substitution service in lieu of rail service. Passengers requiring further travel to South Hills poinst will in turn board any detoured routes 41, 44, Y46, or Y49 buses also on the East Busway at Penn Station Stop C. Note that the bus substitution service (the alternative to detoured/discontinued light rail service) will not be able to service Gateway, Wood Street, First Avenue, Steel Plaza, or Station Square during the event closures.
Establishment of 88-Penn Special to accommodate riders traveling to Children's Hospital and West Penn Hospital during marathon events which will not be reachable via standard 88-Penn bus route during detours. The detoured 64-Lawrenceville-Waterfront buses, and later in the day the detoured 87-Friendship buses will serve Children's Hospital, but combined service frequency of both routes does not match normal 88-Penn frequency (which itself will be off scheduled times due to extensive detours), hence the establishment of the 88-Penn Special.
Parking:
Parking restrictions will be in effect citywide. For event goers and observers, popular options include parking on the North Shore or South Shore (Station Square) then walking across the bridges into Downtown or using the T light rail system which is free in the golden triangle.




