July 4th in Pittsburgh: Safety officials detail plans about police presence, road closures
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The sky will light up Tuesday for the Fourth of July.
Pittsburgh Public Safety is rolling out its plan to ensure everyone enjoys the show safely. The family-friendly events start at The Point at 4 p.m., and there will be a picnic-style atmosphere, free music and events.
"We have all of our patrol resources and assets available. Our officers will be working 12-hour days," Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto said.
Bag checks will happen at The Point, and about 250 officers from the city, county and state will patrol Downtown, the North Shore, Mt. Washington and the West End Overlook.
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"They will be out, engaged, accessible, available, visible so that we ensure we have a safe environment for this event," Scirotto said.
Several road closures will be in effect. Some start as early as 4 p.m. The full list can be found here.
In addition, there will be no parking allowed on either side of West Carson Street, as vehicles often attempt to park and watch the fireworks from that vantage point.
The day will conclude with fireworks over the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers.
"We brought a lot of extra stuff. We want to make sure we have a great show for everyone. Got a lot of unique things and fun stuff in our show," Starfire Corporation VP Vincent Terrizzi Jr. said.
Starfire Corporation has thousands of fireworks ready to go for this show. It had to use three trucks to bring them all in, and it started setting up for the show last week.
"All the noise you're going to hear in the show, and some other specialty items that are here, are actually made in Carrolltown, Pa.," Terrizzi said.
Their plan Tuesday is to finalize the setup, float the barges out to their location, and then have a perimeter set up to keep boaters safe.
"Pittsburgh is a great city. It has so many amazing things. To be out there in the center of the Three Rivers and being on the barge is one of the greatest feelings," Terrizzi said.
The show will last for about 25 minutes, and it will all start around 9:35 p.m.
Click here for KDKA-TV's firework guide.
