Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge to remain closed until full rehab project is complete
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge will remain closed until a full rehabilitation project is finished.
Last month, City of Pittsburgh leaders abruptly closed the bridge which connects the city's Oakland and Schenley Park neighborhoods due to safety concerns. Mayor Ed Gainey says they're working with PennDOT to speed up the project and will keep the bridge closed until repairs are made.
For drivers like Diane Dougherty, many of her drives take a little be longer with the bridge being closed.
"You have to go through Pitt's campus, so it adds some extra time to your day," the Oakland resident said Friday.
She has more traffic going up and down her street now as drivers find alternate routes.
"They come flying around the corner. You're trying to park, and they're always in a hurry to get around you," Dougherty said.
It will continue to be that way for the foreseeable future. The city planned to reopen the bridge before closing it again in 2025 for rehab work. Now with help from PennDOT, the city is bumping up that rehab work, which includes the state moving some money from 2025 to help move the rehab work along.
"To find a way to expedite that funding so that we can start work on the full rehab project right away," Mayor Ed Gainey's press secretary Maria Montano said Friday.
This will be similar to the Fern Hollow Bridge rebuild in the sense that some design work will go on as the building is done. This time the city will have the lead on the project. Fern Hollow was under PennDOT's oversight.
"We kind of took the whole project over from the city. Designed it and managed it and did a progressive design-build," PennDOT Executive Deputy Secretary Cheryl Moon-Sirianni said.
Some of the work includes working on the concrete deck, steel superstructure and concrete substructure. All three were rated as "poor."
Right now, the estimated price tag is anywhere from 40$ to $50 million . The breakdown is 80% federal money, 15% from the state and 5% from the city. There is no current timeline for the project, but construction could start next spring.