ROAD TO COMPLETION
PennDOT: Still more work set for Route 28, but Fern Hollow Bridge wrapping up
A yearslong project to reconfigure the Highland Park Bridge’s interchange with Route 28 that has led to traffic disruptions will wrap up late next year, while the Fern Hollow Bridge is expected to reopen this year, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials said Tuesday while touting several roadwork projects that took place during the 2022 construction season.
In all, PennDOT’s District 11 — which includes Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties — this year put 56 projects out to bid, completed about 335 miles of paving and maintenance and repaired or replaced 54 bridges, 11 of which were in poor condition.
“We’re very pleased with all the work that’s gotten done this year,” said PennDOT District 11 Executive Cheryl Moon-Sirianni. “It’s not easy to work in the Pittsburgh area, this region, because of the traffic. It was very difficult this year because the labor force was depleted, supply chain issues were very difficult, especially at the beginning of the year, the price of gas kept fluctuating, so it’s honestly amazing that the contractors were able to get as much work done as they could in the time frame we gave them.”
Several roadways throughout the Pittsburgh region have been under construction for years, including the Highland Park Bridge’s interchange with Route 28. That project originally began in 2020 with
the goal of creating two lanes of free-flowing traffic from Downtown Pittsburgh to Kittanning. Northbound has been narrowed to one lane because of limits at the bridge creating slowdowns.
Work on the $47.3 million improvement project has led to ramp closures throughout the year, two of which are currently closed. Those include the ramp from Highland Park to Route 28 south, which will open in mid-December, and the ramp from Highland Park to Freeport Road, which will open early next month.
Five more ramp closures are scheduled for next year, said Jason Zang, assistant district executive for construction.
Those include the Virginia Avenue on-ramp to southbound Route 28 and southbound Route 28 to the Highland Park Bridge.
“The main purpose of the project is to widen (Route) 28 to have two, three lanes but while we’re out there we’re reconstructing all the existing ramps that were pretty much at the end of their useful life,” Mr. Zang said. “They’re all 30-plus years old.”
A project on Route 28 between Highland Park and Harmar wrapped up this year at a cost of $15.3 million, while another project is underway between Harmar and Creighton.
In all, work on Route 28 is costing $90 million.
Additionally, crews are working to replace the Fern Hollow Bridge over Frick Park, which collapsed Jan. 28, sending a Port Authority articulated bus and several cars tumbling more than 100 feet to the park below. Ten people were injured in the crash.
The Forbes Avenue bridge, which linked Squirrel Hill to Regent Square, has been under construction since the collapse. It is now projected to open by Christmas.
“Everything seems to be lining up to make that happen,” Ms. Moon-Sirianni said. “Just excellent work by the design team, the consulting team. It was deemed an emergency so we got to skip a bunch of steps and work together and move the project to where it’s at today. “
She noted that about 90% of the work is currently completed, including the bridge deck.
“There’s still going to be work to be done next year,” Ms. Moon-Sirianni said. “When we open that up at the end of the year it’s only going to be one lane in each direction because there’s still work being done. And then the whole park underneath will be reestablished.”
PennDOT used funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a $1 trillion bill passed by Congress in November, for the project. In all, $72.7 million in additional funding passed through the local department this year, which was used on projects like the Fern Hollow Bridge, Highland Park Bridge interchange improvements and the Boulevard of the Allies bridge and ramps preservation project, among others.
While PennDOT is in the midst of completing several major projects, many others were wrapped up this year, including an almost $7.8 million Route 19 betterment project between McMurray Road in Upper St. Clair and Connor Road in Mt. Lebanon and an $18.5 million East Carson Street safety improvement project.
In addition to the Route 28 projects and Fern Hollow Bridge, many will continue through next year like the rehabilitation of the Neville Island Bridge and I-79 roadway resurfacing and bridge deck replacements in Allegheny County.
“We’re very happy that the infrastructure bill passed because without that we would not have been able to get a few of these projects done and moving into next year it would have really had an impact,” Ms. Moon-Sirianni said.