The Allegheny County Department of Public Works is looking for public comment regarding the Roberto Clemente Bridge rehabilitation project, which will close the bridge for nearly two years.
The project is the third and final phase of rehabilitating Pittsburgh's "Sister Bridges," which also include the Andy Warhol and Rachel Carson Bridges.
"We're excited to finish up these historic rehabilitations for these bridges," said Allegheny County Department of Public Works director Stephen Shanley.
The closure is scheduled to begin in early 2022 and end in fall 2023.
When gas line work takes place, the closure will also include Federal St. extending near the Clemente statue.
The Clemente Bridge and Federal St. typically close for Pirates game to allow for fans to gather and easily walk from Downtown Pittsburgh.
Shanley says they've been in close contact with the Pirates about the closure.
"We tried to see if we could keep a sidewalk open, but unfortunately there's a lot of utilities under these sidewalks," he said. "We're unable to accommodate that. We've been working with the Pirates to try to be as accommodating as we can. They will be using the Seventh St. bridge."
The $30 million project includes extensive work to replace the bridge's concrete deck, sidewalks, steel members, expansion joints and lighting. The bridge will also be repainted the signature Aztec Gold.
"We've had some issues," Shanley said of the state of the bridge. "We're having structural, rusting of the steel. The decks are starting to show wear and we're having deterioration of the decks on the surface."
Because the project also includes repainting the handrails and panels, the hundreds of love locks attached to the bridge will be removed.
The locks are typically attached to the bridge by couples wanting to symbolize their love. They will often attach the lock and throw the key in the river.
You can submit public comment on Allegheny County's website.