Weeks-long closure of New Kensington Bridge to start Monday
NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. (KDKA) -- A weeks-long closure of the New Kensington Bridge will begin on Monday.
PennDOT said the bridge, which connects East Deer Township in Allegheny County to New Kensington in Westmoreland County, closes at 9 a.m. on July 24 through Sept. 4.
Built almost 100 years ago, the New Kensington Bridge is the Allegheny River crossing for almost 16,000 drivers every day.
Crews will conduct dam and bearing replacement, latex overlay, paving operations, and other work as part of a $24 million preservation project that began in March.
At the same time, 10th Street, which runs under the eastern side of the New Kensington Bridge, will close for bearing replacement and structure painting work.
"The work that we're doing that requires the bridge to be closed is replacing all of the expansion joints and putting a new overlay on the bridge to protect the deck and extend the service length," according to Jason Zang of PennDOT.
And it can't be done quickly.
"It's tentatively 42 days, and unless they run into something unforeseen, we should be on track for an early September reopening," Zang added. "It's a very important crossing. Yeah, there's not a bridge very close. The next closest bridge is the Tarentum Bridge."
The distance between the bridges is only about three miles, but it means going upriver to the Tarentum Bridge, crossing the river, and coming back down the other side.
The other alternative is going eight miles south on Logans Ferry Road, Coxcomb Hill Road, to Hulton Road, and the bridge in Oakmont.
The detour is posted on PennDOT's website. The sidewalk on the bridge will stay open.
PennDOT is aiming for an overall completion date in the fall of next year.