Springdale residents prepare for demolition of 100-year-old trestle bridge over busy road
SPRINGDALE, Pa. (KDKA) — Pittsburgh Street is the main artery connecting Cheswick to Springdale, but some traffic woes are on the way as crews prepare to remove a 100-year-old trestle bridge.
"It was an original trestle when they brought coal cars down from the old coal mines on top of the hill that fed the old Colfax station down by the river, before the Cheswick power station. Since the 1970s, it's been used for a pipe bridge for transport of ash and water from the site across Pittsburgh Street," Miller said.
At a town hall meeting on Thursday night, people who live in Springdale Borough had the opportunity to get some answers about the demolition plan and how it will impact them.
The owner and police said starting Nov. 13, Pittsburgh Street will be closed for at least five nights between Duquesne Avenue and Washington Street. It'll make going between Cheswick and Springdale a bit of a chore from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
"We have all the major intersections covered, we have road barricades at all the endpoints, and we will have police there to direct," Springdale Borough Police Department Chief Derek Dayoub said.
Sgt. Fred Hockenberry told KDKA-TV that police will block the intersections and sidewalks during the closures. He said the work is happening at night because Pittsburgh Street has major traffic during the day, including truck traffic.
"With this being a major artery that goes right along with (Route) 28, we do get a lot, especially we have a few businesses," Sgt. Hockenberry said.
Springdale Borough police hosted the town hall so residents could ask questions about the process, concerns and detours.
"How far can traffic go?" one resident asked in the meeting.
"Is there going to be excessive noise through the area that would cause issues for the residents?" another neighbor asked.
"When they brought down the smokestacks, there was a danger zone. Are there any danger zones dropping this trestle?" a community member said.
Sam Miller with Charah Solutions, which manages the property, told community members there will be no danger zone, but people should expect some construction noise.
"We're planning on closing the road, putting protection down on the road, and then cutting up the bridge in pieces and taking it down piece by piece," Miller said.
"We're going to do it safely and we're going to try to do it as efficiently as possible to minimize the effects to the community," he added.
Sgt. Hockenberry said they have a plan to make sure there's no impact on emergency response times.
"We did coordinate with Charah Solutions into using the backside of the plant for emergency vehicles to be able to go to and from the location if need be for medial, fire or police emergency," Sgt. Hockenberry said.
The trestle removal project is part of the demolition process at the old power station. Miller said Charah Solutions hopes to sell after cleaning up the property to industrial standards.