(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of Visit Pittsburgh)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced that several state-owned roadways will close for the 2026 NFL Draft in the City of Pittsburgh beginning today, and will remain closed for the duration of the Draft, unless otherwise noted. According to a recent release from PennDOT District 11, here is more information about these closures and where they are expected:

• The event is expected to be extremely well attended. PennDOT encourages fans to plan in advance and to take mass transit, which may be the most efficient way to travel between Draft events. A comprehensive transportation guide including public transportation, parking, road closures, and other travel information for the NFL Draft can be found at NFLDraftPittsburgh.com by clicking here. PennDOT also encourages drivers not attending Draft Week events to delay unnecessary travel to Pittsburgh or consider alternate routes around the city. Drivers should allow extra travel time, be patient, and remain calm and courteous.

The following state roadways and ramps will close to traffic, and drivers will be detoured according to the following schedule:

Monday, April 13 at approximately 8:00 PM:

• Southbound I-279 (Parkway North) ramp to the North Shore (Exit 1B).

Monday, April 20 at approximately 8:00 PM:

• Northbound I-279 (Upper deck of the Fort Duquesne Bridge) left-hand ramp to the North Shore (Reedsdale Street – Exit 1B).

Monday, April 20 at approximately 10:00 PM:

• The I-279 and I-579 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes will close to traffic to accommodate emergency vehicle and bus traffic. All other vehicles will be prohibited. The HOV lanes will reopen to traffic Monday morning, April 27.

Wednesday, April 22 at approximately 8:00 PM:

• Southbound Route 65 ramp to the Fort Duquesne Bridge.
• Northbound I-279 (Fort Duquesne Bridge) ramp to northbound Route 65.
• 10^th Street Bypass ramp to the I-279 Portal Bridge.
• Eastbound I-376 ramp to Liberty Avenue (Exit 70A).
• Liberty Avenue to I-376 (Fort Pitt Bridge).
• Allegheny Avenue/Ridge Avenue/Reedsdale Street ramp to the Fort Duquesne Bridge.

The following detours will be in place:

Southbound I-279 (Parkway North) ramp the North Shore (Exit 1B)

• No detour route will be provided as all local roadways off the exit are closed to traffic. However, the ramp will reopen to traffic for specific Pirate games listed below.

Northbound I-279 (Upper deck of the Fort Duquesne Bridge) left-hand ramp to the North Shore (Reedsdale Street – Exit 1B)

• No detour route will be provided as all local roadways off the exit are closed to traffic.

Southbound Route 65 ramp to the Fort Duquesne Bridge

• From southbound Route 65, continue straight onto the ramp to North 28/North 279/Truck North 19
• Merge onto northbound I-279 (Parkway North)
• Take the Hazlett Street (Exit 3) off-ramp
• Turn left onto East Street
• Turn right onto the ramp to southbound I-279 at Venture Street
• Follow I-279 southbound back to the Fort Duquesne Bridge
• End detour

Northbound I-279 (Fort Duquesne Bridge) to northbound Route 65

• From the upper deck of the Fort Duquesne Bridge, continue to North 28/279
• From northbound I-279 (Parkway North), take the ramp to North 28 toward Chestnut Street/East Ohio Street/Etna (Exit 1D)
• From northbound Route 28, take the left-hand off-ramp to North 279 toward East Ohio Street
• At the traffic light, turn left onto East Ohio Street
• Turn left onto the ramp to southbound I-279
• From southbound I-279 take the ramp to North 65 toward Ohio River Boulevard (Exit 1C)
• End detour

10^th Street Bypass to the I-279 Portal Bridge

• From westbound 10^th Street Bypass, turn left onto Fort Duquesne Boulevard
• Turn left onto 9^th Street
• Turn right onto Liberty Avenue
• Turn left onto Stanwix Street
• Take the ramp to West 376 toward the Fort Pitt Bridge/Airport
• End detour

Eastbound I-376 ramp to Liberty Avenue (Exit 70A)

• From eastbound I-376, take the ramp to the Boulevard of the Allies/Liberty Bridge/PPG Arena (Exit 70A)
• Take the ramp to the Boulevard of the Allies
• Turn left onto Stanwix Street
• Follow Stanwix Street to Liberty Avenue
• End detour

Liberty Avenue to westbound I-376 (Fort Pitt Bridge)

• From Liberty Avenue, turn left onto Stanwix Street
• Take the ramp to West 376 toward the Fort Pitt Bridge/Airport
• End detour

Allegheny Avenue/Ridge Avenue/Reedsdale Street ramp to the Fort Duquesne Bridge

• No detour route will be provided as Allegheny Avenue and Reedsdale Street will be closed. Ridge Avenue will remain open. Drivers can access southbound Route 65 at the West End Bridge interchange.

Additional items of note:

• To accommodate Pittsburgh Pirates traffic, the southbound I-279 (Parkway North) ramp to the North Shore (Exit 1B) will reopen and close each day from Friday through Sunday, April 17-19. The ramp will reopen to traffic accessing Red Garage 5 and Champions Garage approximately five hours before the first pitch and will then reclose one-half hour after the first pitch of each game.
• Line striping work is currently scheduled to begin on Saturday, April 18 on the northbound (upper deck) Fort Duquesne Bridge. The bridge will be reduced to two lanes of traffic during the work and the new two-lane traffic configuration will be implemented on Wednesday, April 22.
• The I-376 Fort Pitt Bridge sidewalk will close to pedestrian traffic on Wednesday, April 22.
• The northbound I-279 (Parkway North) ramp to northbound Route 28 (Ramp 1D) will be modified to two lanes of traffic.
• Lane restrictions will occur throughout the draft in both directions of the Portal Bridge which spans a portion of Point State Park.
• For those visiting Pittsburgh, the section of I-279 (Parkway North) just north of the Fort Duquesne Bridge is occasionally referred to as the North Shore Expressway.

• Significant congestion is expected to occur during this event. PennDOT encourages drivers not attending draft week events to delay unnecessary travel to Pittsburgh or consider alternate routes around the city.

CHICAGO (AP) — Yohan Ramírez escaped bases-loaded jams in the 10th and 11th innings, and the Pittsburgh Pirates took advantage of a throwing error by Caleb Thielbar to score the go-ahead run in a 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday that clinched the three-game series.

Alex Bregman’s RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning on an 0-2 pitch off Dennis Santana tied the score 3-3 but the NL Central-leading Pirates (9-5) rebounded and won for the eighth time in 10 games, improving to 2-0 this season in series against division rivals.

Oneil Cruz was 4 for 5 with a double, becoming the first Pittsburgh player with at least four hits and three stolen bases in a game since Matt Lawton on July 26, 2005, and Nick Yorke had three hits.

Chicago stranded 16 runners and went 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position. Michael Busch went 0 for 3 and is hitless in 30 at-bats.

Pittsburgh went ahead in the 11th when Brandon Lowe hit a two-out grounder to Thielbar (1-2), who bounced his throw to the infield side of first, and the ball bounced off Matt Shaw’s mitt for an error that allowed Mitt Gonzales to score from second. Lowe was credited with an infield single.

Ramírez got out of the 10th when Dansby Swanson grounded out. Then in the 11th, Ramírez threw wildly past first on Nico Hoerner’s leadoff comebacker for an error that advanced Swanson, the automatic runner, to third as Hoerner took second.

Matt Shaw flied out to medium right field, Bregman fouled out and an intentional walk to Ian Happ loaded the bases. Seiya Suzuki got ahead 3-0 in the count, tool a called strike and then fouled out.

Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft struck out a career-best nine in five innings while allowing a run on Hoerner’s fifth-inning RBI groundout, which cut the Cubs’ deficit to 3-1.

Cubs starter Edward Cabrera gave up three runs, eight hits and three walks in five innings.

Up Next

Pittsburgh RHP Bubba Chandler (0-1) and Cubs RHP Jameson Taillon (0-1) start Sunday.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds watches his two-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

CHICAGO (AP) — Bryan Reynolds hit a two-run homer and Carmen Mlodzinski pitched six-hit ball into the sixth inning, helping the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0 on Friday.

Pittsburgh was shut down by Shota Imanaga before breaking through against Caleb Thielbar in the seventh. Ryan O’Hearn hit a leadoff single for the Pirates’ first hit of the chilly afternoon, and Reynolds drove Thielbar’s next pitch deep to left for his third homer.

Pittsburgh won for the seventh time in nine games since its 1-3 start.

Chicago went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base. Ian Happ had two of the team’s six hits.

Cubs slugger Seiya Suzuki went 1 for 3 with a fourth-inning single in his first game this season. He had been sidelined by a sprained right knee.

Imanaga struck out nine and walked one in six innings. The Japanese left-hander threw 68 of 100 pitches for strikes.

Thielbar (1-1) was lifted after Oneil Cruz’s two-out single in the seventh. The 39-year-old lefty pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings over his first four appearances this year.

Mason Montgomery (1-0) replaced Mlodzinski with runners on first and second in the sixth. He struck out Pete Crow-Armstrong and walked Carson Kelly before fanning pinch-hitter Matt Shaw for the final out of the inning.

The Cubs also left the bases loaded in the fourth when Moisés Ballesteros lined to Reynolds in left.

Isaac Mattson and Gregory Soto each pitched an inning for the Pirates before Dennis Santana handled the ninth for his first save this season.

Pirates rookie Konnor Griffin went 0 for 3 with a strikeout in his first career road game. The 19-year-old shortstop agreed to a nine-year, $140 million contract on Wednesday

Up next

Braxton Ashcraft (1-1, 2.25 ERA) starts for Pittsburgh on Saturday, and fellow right-hander Edward Cabrera (1-0, 0.00 ERA) pitches for Chicago.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins right wings Bryan Rust (17) celebrates with Egor Chinakhov (59) after scoring a goal against the New Jersey Devils during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — For the first time in four years, it will soon be a great day for playoff hockey in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins clinched a playoff spot Thursday night by beating New Jersey, ending their postseason drought that lasted three seasons. They had made 16 postseason appearances in a row before that, last missing in Sidney Crosby’s rookie year in 2005-06, with that stretch including three Stanley Cup titles.

“That’s why you play — that’s the best time of year,” Crosby said. “I know how hard it is. I think I understand that. We had some tough ones where it came down to the last day and didn’t get in, and you don’t ever know. But I thought right from camp, we’ve had those intentions and had that belief.”

It was an up-and-down season that included an eight-game skid in December and a pair of six-game winning streaks later in the winter. Far from assured a place in the field in late March when the Eastern Conference race was a crowded mess, they’ve won five of six games since March 30 to get in.

“A couple weeks ago (we realized) it’s really in our hands (because we) play a lot of the teams in it,” defenseman Connor Clifton said. “We figured it was going to work itself out, and first and foremost it’s about us and getting points and we’ve done that, so it’s been good.”

It has also been a surprise. Pittsburgh was a 6-1 long shot to qualify before the puck dropped on opening night, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. This looked like one last kick at it together for an aging core of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, who at 20 seasons together are the longest-tenured trio of teammates in North American professional sports.

Instead, new coach Dan Muse has made general manager Kyle Dubas look brilliant for hiring him from relative anonymity: five years as an assistant under Peter Laviolette with Nashville and the New York Rangers. Succeeding two-time Cup-winner Mike Sullivan was not an easy task, but Muse aced the test in his first chance to run an NHL bench.

“He’s been great: Calm there behind the bench, and he’s just a really personable guy, easy to talk to away from the rink,” forward Justin Brazeau said. “Any time you create that atmosphere in here, it’s not too tense or anything like that. I think guys are just willing to go out there and play free.”

Center Ben Kindel, picked 11th in the draft last year, made the team at 18. Defenseman Erik Karlsson thrived at 35. Crosby was a point-a-game player for a 21st consecutive season, even if it was interrupted by the injury that knocked him out of the Olympics.

“It takes everybody,” Crosby said. “Everybody has had a part in this. Obviously it’s a team game, but especially with this group: With the injuries and all the different guys in and out, everybody’s contributed to us getting there.”

Muse, like Crosby, saw evidence in training camp that this was a playoff-caliber team.

“I just saw the competitive nature of the group,” Muse said. “There’s ebbs and flows in every season, but I think this group has just continued to grow. Enjoy it for a little bit, a minute, and then it’s just continuing that preparation. It’s a big step for the group. I’m really proud of these guys, happy for these guys, the staff, everybody involved. The players have done a great job with it throughout the year. We talked about earning things at the beginning of the year. This group earned it.”

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71) shoots against New Jersey Devils centers Cody Glass (12) and Nick Bjugstad (72) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Evgeni Malkin scored as part of his two-point game, Sidney Crosby set up two goals and Kris Letang had an assist as the Pittsburgh Penguins clinched a playoff spot by defeating the New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Thursday night.

The Penguins are playoff-bound for the first time since 2022, ending a three-year drought that followed a streak of qualifying 16 seasons in a row. Crosby, Malkin and Letang have been around for all of it, including Stanley Cup runs in 2009, ’16 and ’17.

Bryan Rust, who was part of the back-to-back championships, scored his 29th goal of the season on Pittsburgh’s first shot of the game.

Newcomers helped make the latest bid possible, including winger Egor Chinakov, who had a goal and two assists, and netminder Stuart Skinner, who made 19 saves and was serenated by “STUUUU” chants from visiting fans in attendance. Each player was acquired by trade in December.

Skinner stopped all seven shots he faced and got a fortunate break with a puck off the post before Rust gave the Penguins the lead. He turned aside former Edmonton teammate Connor Brown later in the first, before allowing a pair of goals in the second.

Tommy Novak also had a goal for the Penguins, and Erik Karlsson sealed it with an empty-netter.

U.S. Olympic hero Jack Hughes scored, and Jake Allen made 26 saves in net for the Devils. The team announced earlier Thursday the decision to shut down young defenseman Luke Hughes for the remainder of the season so he could undergo a procedure to address a lingering undisclosed injury and be ready for training camp in September.

Up next

Devils: Visit Detroit on Saturday in another crucial game for the Red Wings in their playoff chase.

Penguins: Host the Capitals on Saturday in the first half of a home-and-home series that could be the final two games between Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.