Hulton Bridge closures coming

New span expected to open by fall

Work on the $64.8 million Hulton Bridge replacement project will extend into spring 2016, but the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation expects that the new span will be open to traffic by late October this year.

Bridge users will have to deal with two extended closures before that, as the contractor relocates utilities and works on the approaches in Harmar and Oakmont.

The first, estimated at 12 days, will come in June or July after Riverview School District goes on summer break. The other, projected at 15 days, is scheduled for late September or early October.

The detours will be arduous, as the Hulton Bridge’s nearest neighbors (aside from the Pennsylvania Turnpike crossing) are the C.L. Schmitt Bridge in New Kensington, about 7 miles away, and the Highland Park Bridge in Pittsburgh — 6 miles away via Freeport Road and 8 miles away via Allegheny River Boulevard.

When it comes to capacity, the new bridge will blow away its 106-year-old predecessor. It will provide two 11-foot-wide traffic lanes in both directions, double the number of the old bridge. It will have 6-foot-wide shoulders on both sides, a 4-footwide median and a 5-foot-wide

sidewalk on the downstream side.

Speaking of getting blown away, that is to be the fate of the old bridge.

Explosives will drop it into the Allegheny River after the new bridge opens.

The old bridge was painted lilac during a repair project in 1991, although its color now is faded and tinged with rust.

The new bridge will have traditional green paint on its beams, with piers and abutments dressed with “canal parkway stone” facings. Light poles and railings will be black.

Pedestrian “outlooks” will be built over each of the three river piers.

Improvements to the roads on both sides of the bridge are part of the project, with a goal of easing the chronic congestion that exists today.

Much of the construction that occurs next year will be on those roads.

Work began in 2013 with the goal of finishing in time for the U.S. Open golf tournament June 13-16, 2016, at Oakmont Country Club.

Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette The metal decking goes into place on the new Hulton Bridge, with the old Hulton Bridge looming behind. This view is looking toward Oakland.