On a weekend when the Parkway East was closed in the inbound direction for construction starting at Churchill, Dave Donaldson, of Murrysville, checked PennDOT's Web site to get a feel for things before heading to Pittsburgh.

"I thought rain may have altered the schedule," he said.

Instead of finding current travel conditions, he found traffic TV surveillance cameras displaying pictures from the previous morning.

"Doesn't anyone monitor them over the weekend, especially when all the critical road work is performed at that time?" Mr. Donaldson said. "Why can't they move into the 21st century?"

PennDOT spokesman Jim Struzzi apologized and acknowledged, "Our previous traffic camera site is essentially dead and not being updated on a regular basis."

The Web site had not been removed as of early last week and did not direct people to the new site, a traffic jam of the keyboard variety: www.dot.state.pa.us/Penndot/Districts/district11.nsf/District11TrafficCams?OpenPage.

You didn't expect PennDOT to make it easy, did you?

PennDOT has been improving the remote TV cameras on the Parkway East and elsewhere in Allegheny County to provide better information -- not "streaming video" but updated video shots every 2-3 seconds, making it easier to track travel conditions.

"Unfortunately, this [hi-tech change] has caused some problems on weekends, which we are working to address," said Mr. Struzzi, who, besides his public relations duties, is the scapegoat for PennDOT engineers who plan and carry out some projects on schedules serving their interests, not necessarily yours.

Carol and Diane Panzak, of Monroeville, e-mailed their own "tale of woe" about often unpredictable conditions on the Parkway East, leaving for Downtown at 5 p.m. on a recent Saturday for dinner and a show, "Jesus Christ Superstar."

Although they were aware the parkway had been closed inbound again, they were shocked to find themselves trapped in traffic backed up well east of Rodi Road in Penn Hills.

"I thought we would be getting off in Churchill [to take the detour] and, had I known, I would have gone another way," Mrs. Panzak said. "What infuriated me most were police sitting in their cars, just watching traffic."

When the cops drove off, some cars illegally drove up a grassy embankment to reach a local road to escape the congestion. The Panzaks didn't follow and risk being ticketed.

After using their cell phone to contact the restaurant and change their dinner reservation, then calling later to cancel it, they ended up grabbing a salad at a fast-food outlet and arriving at the Benedum just before the curtains rose at 8 p.m.

"We both felt as if we had run a marathon," Mrs. Panzak said. "Why does construction have to happen when all the high-ranking Pittsburgh officials want people to come Downtown? You cannot get there!"

PennDOT has seven more weekend closings planned this season where the $22.8 million project is taking place on three miles between Business Route 22, Churchill, and the Edgewood-Swissvale interchange -- four in the inbound direction and three outbound.

Because of weather and depending on progress, PennDOT waits until Wednesday or Thursday to announce whether the road will be closed, so it's challenging for people who travel the region's second-busiest highway to plan in advance.

You've been warned. Again.

Speeding response. The federally funded, state-sponsored program that targets aggressive driving and resulted in 3,370 citations April 6-20 in Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties did not sit well with lots of people, including Doug Ament.

"Smooth Operator does not make me feel any safer," he e-mailed. "The feds bribe cops with overtime pay so they can send them out to write thousands of questionable tickets. I live in Murrysville and 52 mph is not aggressive or dangerous for that road," a reference to Export resident Tony Polombo, who was ticketed on Route 22 in Murrysville for driving at that speed during the crackdown.

Mr. Ament said time and money would be better spent on traffic safety by enforcing violations such as failing to yield at merge points or engaging in such practices as weaving, tailgating and running yellow lights.

"That I would like to see!" he said.

Big Brother watching. Since the Pennsylvania Turnpike recently implemented E-ZPass on the Mon-Fayette Expressway at mainline toll barriers in Jefferson Hills and near California, Pa., it also has activated TV surveillance cameras to record the license plates of fare evaders.

For years, signs warning of "Video Monitoring in Effect" were a ruse, since the TV cameras never had been installed. As a result, some motorists faked tossing money into coin collection baskets, knowing there was virtually no way they'd be nabbed.

Now, however, turnpike officials say the cameras are in operation at the toll barriers and are being phased in on expressway ramps as they have been on its other two turnpike extensions, the Greensburg Bypass and the Beaver Valley Expressway.

If you're caught and convicted for failing to pay up to a $1 toll for a car, you can end up paying a fine and costs totaling $180.