PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) – The entire underdeck of the Ft Duquesne Bridge will be checked by PennDOT next week to make sure no more concrete falls. Pieces of concrete from the bridge deck shattered on a crosswalk on North Shore Drive Tuesday. No one was hurt.
PennDOT District Executive Cheryl Moon-Siriani tells KDKA Radio the bridge is safe for motorists. “It is not a dire concern that there’s a safety condition with the bridge. There’s a factor of safety built into all our bridges.”
However the bridge deck is more than 50 years old and is in need of repairs.
Next week, crews will inspect every inch of the underdeck looking for more loose concrete. If they find it they will knock it down to make sure nothing else falls. Moon-Siriani says the work is expected to take 3-4 days. There could be some lane closures between the hours of 9 am to 3 p.m. and in the evening after rush hour.
In the long run PennDOT hopes to replace the Ft. Duquesne Bridge deck in the next ten years. As usual the problem is money.
Moon-Siriani says there’s about $460 million statewide to preserve interstate bridges. “And we need about $1.2 billion statewide to attack all of these bridges of concern.”
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