The flashing signs say the I-279 North High Occupancy Vehicle lane work is delayed until late July," James Smith of Ross wrote in an e-mail. "According to my calendar, it is now early August. When will this reopen?"

Greg Buches of Bethel Park asked, "When are they going to open the new northbound entrance ramp to I-79 at Bridgeville?"

OK. Many of you have suffered enough during the current highway construction season, so "Getting Around" has updates -- some good, some not so good -- on high-profile transportation projects in Allegheny County.

I-279/Parkway North -- Unanticipated structural problems with an HOV overpass at McKnight Road has put the preventive maintenance project more than a month behind schedule. Starting tomorrow, McKnight Road drivers can travel inbound as usual. But traffic streaming down I-279 will have to exit at Perrysville Avenue onto the HOV lanes through mid-September for more bridge work. All work is to be finished by the end of the year, but lanes will be restricted in off-peak hours and over weekends.

I-79 ramp, Bridgeville -- Work is nearly finished on the new four-span Chartiers Creek bridge that'll carry merging traffic from Route 50 to I-79 North on an extended acceleration lane. The new on-ramp is to be open in about a month. All related work will be done in October.

Forbes Avenue, Oakland -- Forbes Avenue has been limited to one lane this summer as part of the Boulevard of the Allies project, dangerously backing up traffic trying to exit the Parkway East. The single-lane restriction is now scheduled to be lifted Aug. 18. The new boulevard bridge, when completed around the end of the year, will feature 14-foot-high eagle emblems on the abutments and eye-pleasing wall textures, a nice touch for Oakland's new "gateway."

Parkway West missing ramps -- While the finish date for the $67 million project is mid-2009, PennDOT will open the new ramps before the end of the year. The concrete deck has been poured on the sweeping 1,700-foot ramp that will carry eastbound parkway traffic to I-79 North. The same type of work is currently taking place on a shorter bridge that will carry southbound I-79 traffic toward Pittsburgh International Airport.

Route 28/I-279 ramp -- This missing ramp will enable inbound Route 28 traffic to proceed directly to I-279 South without having to exit onto East Ohio Street and deal with traffic signals. It took officials 20 years to work this out and build the new connector that's to open about a month from now. Why wasn't this done in the first place? Pittsburgh officials opposed it, fearing people would bypass the North Side. They did anyhow.

Parkway East/I-376 -- The 3-mile rehabilitation between the Edgewood-Swissvale Interchange and Business Route 22, Wilkins, is about 50 percent finished. While motorists are already riding on new pavement in some places, they face more single-lane restrictions and a few closures on weekends through October. Next year, work will cover the remainder of the parkway to the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Monroeville Interchange.

West End Bypass -- The new South Main Street bridge between Steuben and South Main streets is to be done in October. That will reopen the "back door" route to the city, end the short but congested detour through the West End and ease pressure on the Parkway West, especially inbound in the morning.

I-79, Neville Island to I-279 -- The second year of the 6.6-mile reconstruction hasn't been particularly hard on traffic inasmuch as it's the least heavily traveled stretch of I-79 in Allegheny County. The good news is work is on schedule and all lanes should be opened again in October.

Route 28, Allegheny Valley -- The prime contract to rebuild bridges and resurface 6.8 miles in Harmar, Springdale, Frazer and East Deer is about 75 percent done and driving conditions have improved. Major blasting is history on the special hillside stabilization project. But the next $22.5 million phase of improvements at the Etna Interchange are just getting under way, covering bridges and 2.3 miles on the northbound side.

North Shore Connector -- The Port Authority's contractor is to start boring the northbound Allegheny River tunnel on Aug. 11 and finish by the of the year, completing the keystone of the 1.2-mile light-rail extension that will link Downtown to the North Shore in 2011. The next two contracts have been awarded and work will be more visible to passersby: the concrete-and-steel shell of a new Gateway Center Station across from Fifth Avenue Place and the elevated structure above Reedsdale Street past Heinz Field.

Combined, the 10 biggest transportation projects represent about $325 million for PennDOT and $250 million for the Port Authority -- your tax dollars at work.