Ramp in Pittsburgh from Crosstown Boulevard to Parkway East reopens after major pothole
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Thousands of people who drove their cars or used public transportation through the Downtown Pittsburgh area had their Monday morning commute impacted because of a major pothole.
The ramp that takes drivers from Crosstown Boulevard to the Parkway East closed because of the pothole. During the morning commute on Monday, police blocked off access to the ramp, forcing all drivers to exit towards the Liberty Bridge with no option of exiting to the Parkway East ramp headed towards Monroeville.
Images of the pothole show rebar through the bridge and no concrete left in the gaping hole. On KDKA-TV Morning News, KDKA-TV's John Shumway showed the traffic backup, saying: "This is having a significant impact. It has backed traffic all the across the Veterans Bridge, back into the Parkway North."
Crews put a temporary fix in place: a piece of heavy sheet metal covering the hole. PennDOT said the hole happened because of the heavy rains this weekend. But given the still existing hole, covered or not, is the ramp safe?
"Bridges actually move," said Lori Musto, District 11 assistant district executive of maintenance. "As the bridge moves, any concrete that is deteriorating, that concrete will fall out. We do see some deeper potholes on bridge decks. So, we have a permanent repair plan. We go in and remove all that concrete. The rebar is intact, the bridge is perfectly safe."
Weather permitting, PennDOT hopes to attempt another permanent repair this weekend involving cement. Plan on more delays and closure when crews do get around to it. The concrete will take 12 hours to dry.