Detours Likely To Cause Headaches For Drivers, Pedestrians And Bicyclists After Pittsburgh Bridge Collapse
By: Shelley Bortz and Briana Smith
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The day-to-day loss of the Fern Hollow Bridge will set in during Monday morning's rush hour.
Drivers have been using the detours since Friday, when the bridge collapsed, but many who live in the area said they won't know the impact the detours will have on commutes until the morning.
"I think we'll find out in the next week," Squirrel Hill resident Geoffrey Hutchinson said. "My guess is that Penn Avenue and here near Dallas, they're probably going to get a lot busier."
About 14,000 vehicles travel the Fern Hollow Bridge every day, not to mention the bicyclists and pedestrians. Now those people will have to find alternate routes to get where they need to be.
WATCH: KDKA's Briana Smith reports:
"I think anytime we're coming into the eastern part of the city here, we're probably going to have to plan it out an extra 10 to 15 minutes just to make sure to get that detour," Squirrel Hill resident Drew Batoha said.
Heading into the city, the Parkway East could potentially see backups because drivers won't be able to get off at the Edgewood/Swissvale exit to Forbes Avenue to avoid the tunnel. On the way out of the city, the detour will also be on South Dallas and Penn avenues to South Braddock Avenue.
City officials said they are working to get everyone up-to-date information about what the next step is.
"We're talking about having some community meetings just to discuss what's going on, detours, bus routes, school drop off and pick up," Pittsburgh City Councilmember Corey O'Connor said. "Those are the types of questions that you see daily and now we've just interrupted your daily life. So we have to get that information out to the public."
The Port Authority said the detour situation could change over the next 24 to 48 hours.
