To respond to emergencies on the old, two-lane Hulton Bridge, Oakmont police had to hire a motorcycle officer, police Chief David DiSanti Sr. recalled.
That and many other problems with congestion will be eliminated Tuesday when the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officially opens the new four-lane, $65.7 million replacement bridge crossing the Allegheny River between Oakmont and Harmar. The 1,600-foot bridge was built adjacent to its lilac predecessor and is expected to improve traffic flow and accommodate more than the 26,000 vehicles a day on the old bridge.
“[The new bridge] gives us an ability to get emergency vehicles in and out,” Chief DiSanti said. “The old bridge was so narrow we had vehicles hit mirrors at least once a week because there was no margin for error.”
In addition to more lanes, the new bridge will have a 4-foot-wide median, a 6-foot shoulder, a bicycle lane and a 5-foot-wide sidewalk on the downriver side featuring observation areas.
One item of concern for police is that new motorists using the bridge may not be aware that the Oakmont side the bridge empties to is a 15-mph school zone at Riverview High School. Riverview students walk to school, creating a potentially dangerous situation, the chief said.
“We are a pedestrian-traveling community,” Chief DiSanti said. “We want people to be very cognizant that they will be going through a school zone, and we will have officers there to enforce it.”
Oakmont’s vibrant business community is looking forward to the bridge being open on a full-time basis, said Summer Tissue, executive director of the Oakmont Chamber of Commerce. The bridge has been closed for the past two weeks and was closed for two weeks in June for construction.
“The first time was really difficult because it was construction season and other roads were being paved, too,” Miss Tissue said. “This time, although it has been difficult, it was easier because we didn’t have anything else going on at the same time.”
That will end on Tuesday.
The new bridge also will feature two left-turn lanes onto the bridge for motorists traveling south on Freeport Road and two lanes from the bridge to Allegheny Avenue in Oakmont.
“This will definitely give people easier access to Oakmont,” Miss Tissue said. “It’s hard to be welcoming when you have construction vehicles everywhere.”
PennDOT is scheduled to implode the old bridge into the Allegheny River sometime in January.
Correction (posted Oct. 19, 2015): An earlier version incorrectly noted which communities the bridge spans. The Hulton Bridge connects Oakmont to Harmar.
First Published: October 19, 2015, 4:00 a.m.