93-Year-Old Greenfield Bridge Closes For Reconstruction Project
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The 93-year-old Greenfield Bridge will soon be a piece of Pittsburgh history.
It closed at 10 p.m. Friday so that crews could start to build a new one to replace it.
The bridge was featured in a "60 Minutes" story about how bad bridges are in this country.
"We know it's going to be an inconvenience. But it's a 93-year-old bridge. It needs to come down," said Guy Costa, the city's chief operations officer. "It's just another example of the failing infrastructure that we have in Western Pa."
Chunks of concrete would break off and land on the Parkway below. They put up netting to catch the debris. Then, they built a second bridge just to hold the chunks.
The project is expected to be completed in 2017.
The span of bridge is closing between Alger Street in Greenfield and Overlook Drive in Schenley Park.
"The Greenfield Bridge reconstruction is a massive project that has required a tremendous amount of planning and consideration," said Mayor Bill Peduto in a statement. "It's very exciting to reach this stage in the process. While this is a necessary investment, we understand that this closure will have a major impact on the surrounding communities and we are committed to working with the community through this process."
There's a real concern about the 15,000 cars that cross the span every day. The bridge serves as a shortcut around the Parkway, especially during rush hour.
"We're hoping to get the word out to the motorists, pedestrians and bikers that over the next 19 months they will not be able to use this bridge," said Costa. "The plan is, like I said, to close the bridge Friday night, have a big party on Saturday… and the contractor on Sunday will complete the barricading of the bridge."
Detours will be in place during the bridge's closure. You can find the detour routes here.
To commemorate the bridge that was up for almost a century, there will be a "Rock Away the Blues Bridgefest" this Saturday at 4 p.m.
The Bridgefest will include performances from local musicians, the "I Made It!" Market, food trucks and local businesses.
The Greenfield Bridge was built back in the 1920s and opened in 1923.
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