Lighting upgrade means overnight closures on Rachel Carson Bridge
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Around here we call them the sister bridges. The structures are approaching their 100th birthday and they will get there with just about everything new.
"It's an exciting process and these are historic structures, and we want to show them off," Allegheny County Public Works Director Stephen Shanley. "The only trio of identical bridges in the world."
The final touch is some pretty significant lighting, Shanley said.
"The number of lights will be putting on is 1080 lighting fixtures, and they contain 601,440 individual LED lights," he said.
We're not just talking about a few spotlights; these are artistic images of the future.
"Light up the towers, the piers, and the high bar chains along the structure," Shanley said. "And we have some linear lights coming down from the chains."
Colors can be adjusted to what's happening in town.
The work has already started.
"Putting light and conduit underneath the structure with some of the wiring," Shanley said. "So that work has been completed on our Rachel Carson Bridge and Andy Warhol Bridge. So now we're moving up to the decks."
Starting tonight, Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, the Rachel Carson Bridge closes at 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. each weekday. That does cut it close with the morning rush hour. With the Roberto Clemente Bridge closed for renovation, that will leave only the Warhol Bridge open.
"We'll monitor if there's any issues. We'll make adjustments," Shanley said.
The overnight closures on the Rachel Carson Bridge, or 9th Street Bridge, could be impacted by the weather.
"Depending how quickly they can work, at this time, we're assuming two months," Shanley said.
Then, it's on to closing the Warhol Bridge overnights for two months. The Clemente Bridge's lighting will be done as part of the current renovation.
"We're looking at the end of next year. So, December of 2023," Shanley said.