Looking ahead to the completion of the Fern Hollow Bridge
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- This week marks the one year anniversary of the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge.
Five vehicles, including a Port Authority bus went down with the bridge and ten people were hurt.
Now, a year later, traffic is moving on the partially-open replacement bridge.
KDKA's John Shumway marks the anniversary with a look towards the bridge's completion.
One lane in each direction of the bridge is open, but the full return is still a few months away.
Once the relief that no one died in the collapse had passed, within days, the quest for a replacement bridge was in high gear.
"I did not think it would be open by now. I honestly didn't," said PennDOT District 11 Executive Cheryl Moon-Sirianni.
From President Biden on down, replacing the Fern Hollow Bridge was put on the fast track and extraordinary efforts were made along the way.
"This bridge was just over a park, which is always a sensitive issue," Moon-Sirianni said.. "We weren't sure of all the utility connections. Utility company companies have been amazing. There's a lot of entities involved in a project like this."
Moon-Sirianni says these entities worked together like gears in a clock.
Drivers are now using the deck of the new bridge. Walkers and bikers are enjoying their protected path, with a second sidewalk and the other half of the bridge still to come, including more lighting.
"We put enough lights up that we felt it was safer," Moon-Sirianni said. "The pedestrian and the traffic, they are still working on the remaining overhead lighting."
The construction path down to the park on the north side of the bridge will be finished as a permanent path for walkers down to the park and there's a lot of work needed to restore the park.
"We can't do really any of that right now because it's muddy and you know, you're not going to plan in January and February," Moon-Sirianni said.
The equipment for a pedestrian crossing on the west side of the bridge is still to come and it all needs to be finished for the bridge to fully open.
"I would hope by you know, June or July, it's totally done and we can walk away with it but that's Cheryl keeping her fingers crossed," Moon-Sirianni said.
Most bridges are designed, bid, then built. On this one, the design and building happened simultaneously with the equipment and materials they could get their hands on.
PennDOT says they won't know how much more it's costing for the expedited building of the bridge until the work is done.
