Gainey satisfied with new bridge design

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey views the design for the new Fern Hollow Bridge as an upgrade over the span that collapsed Jan. 28 and disagrees with other city officials who want to change the traffic pattern for the replacement, his press secretary Maria Montano said Friday.

Although aesthetic elements are still being designed, Mr. Gainey considers the design released Tuesday by the state Department of Transportation to be safer and sees no reason to reduce traffic lanes on the span. City Controller Michael Lamb and Councilman Corey O’Connor called Thursday for PennDOT to consider reducing road traffic from the current four lanes.

Bike PGH previously called for traffic to be reduced to one lane in each direction and bike paths on both sides of the new bridges.

“In terms of overall design, we think this is an upgrade,” Ms. Montano said. “It’s 50% more space — protected space — for bikers and pedestrians. We’re doing our best to keep everybody safe.”

PennDOT is overseeing the design and construction of the new bridge under an emergency declaration that bypasses normal bidding procedures to take advantage of a $25.3 million grant from the federal Department of Transportation. It is using a special design-build approach where international design firm HDR will still be designing parts of the project when general contractor Swank Construction, of New Kensington, begins construction of the substructure in late April.

Ms. Montano said the city worked with the National Association of City Transportation Officials to design the 10-foot,

5-inch-wide shared-use path that will be on the south side of the bridge. The north side will have a 5-foot-wide sidewalk.

The city plans to extend each of those elements to Beechwood Boulevard on the Squirrel Hill end of the bridge and South Braddock Avenue on the Point Breeze end.

Since this is an emergency situation that requires the bridge work to be done by the end of 2023, Ms. Montano said, the city hasn’t had time to conduct extensive traffic studies or other preliminary work before replacing the bridge. During non-pandemic times about 14,000 vehicles aday use the bridge.

“This is an emergency situation, and that means what is the normal procedures can’t be followed,” she said. “It’s about being able to safely and quickly get the new bridge in place.”

The initial design shows a very plain deck and railings for the new bridge, but PennDOT has said the final design can be expected to include decorative lighting, fancy railings and perhaps artistic treatments of the concrete. Mr. Gainey is satisfied that those items will get the proper attention, Ms. Montano said.

“We understand this really represents the first design and not what the final aesthetics might be,” she said.

After the new bridge opens, the city can spend an extended time examining whether traffic patterns should be changed because it will own the bridge.