Daryyl Hunt said the Big Boy train schedule brought an estimated 7,000 people to Homestead on July 12, 2026, as the locomotive rolled through town and added to traffic from the Parkway East Commercial Street Bridge closure. The crowd left drivers, riders and pedestrians dealing with backups on Eighth Avenue and the Homestead High Level Bridge.
Hunt, the Munhall emergency management coordinator, said the traffic was "It's a lot worse than Christmastime," and "It's six times worse than a normal Saturday." He said one of his crews needed 15 minutes to drive the length of two football fields, and he described the area between the Waterfront and downtown Homestead as a mess.
Kathryn Nagy in Homestead
Kathryn Nagy, a Shadyside resident, drove in from the Parkway East off the Squirrel Hill exit and said she did not hit traffic until she neared Homestead. She said, "It was just backed up for like miles. It looked like any direction to try to get in and out. It was crazy," and added, "I think it's beautiful."
Nagy also said, "I think we need more trains in this country. I would love to be able to take a train more, anywhere. And so, if it takes people coming to see a train for us to get better trains, and it doesn't take eight hours to get from Pittsburgh to Philly on a train, I'll take it." She said, "I love something that I can just like go to and say I've done," then added, "I went to Groundhog Day last year up in Punxsutawney, just for why not, and so I'm here for the exact same reason. Why not? There's a big train coming through."
Traffic along Eighth Avenue
Tracie Wright, who owns a business in Homestead, said, "You don't see shiny trains, big trains anymore, so it was just exciting." An Lewis, executive director of the Steel Rivers Council of Governments, said, "When you only have, you know, 14-15 of these major steam engines in the world, and one is going to roll through your town, it's worth coming out on a Saturday and beating the heat."
Lewis said one of those major steam engines rolled through town on a Saturday, while Hunt said some drivers were not taking the detour routes. He said PennDOT has cameras meant to help ease traffic flow, but he had not seen that effect yet.
Parkway East detour
The crowd and the detour overlapped on the first day of the closure, leaving traffic backed up while the train drew attention in Homestead. Hunt said the problem could continue until the closure ends, and the practical takeaway for anyone heading through the area is simple: expect the detour to be slow around the Waterfront, downtown Homestead, Eighth Avenue and the Homestead High Level Bridge.
