If everything goes right with metal supplies, the new Fern Hollow Bridge could be open by the end of the year.
Cheryl Moon-Sirianni, district executive for the state Department of Transportation, said in a news conference on the Point Breeze side of the bridge Monday that this would mean the structure would reopen only 10 months following its collapse. The former bridge, which carries Forbes Avenue from Squirrel Hill above Frick Park to Point Breeze, fell on Jan. 28.
State officials and Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey held the news conference to mark the delivery of the first of 21 pre-stressed concrete I-beams for the replacement bridge.
“I didn’t think in January that we would be here this soon, but I’m super excited that we are,” Ms. Moon-Sirianni said. “Don’t hold me to this, but we could have this bridge open by the end of the year. That’s assuming everything goes OK with supplies.”
At this point, Ms. Moon-Sirianni said it is too early to say whether the trail under the bridge would be reopened at the same time. There could be continuing work on parts of the bridge and the department wants to avoid pedestrians passing under an active construction site.
The biggest challenge, Ms. Moon-Sirianni said, could be getting steel side rails for the bridge by the end of the year, but she is hopeful.
Because of the emergency, the bridge is being designed and built simultaneously so it can be finished as quickly as possible. Ordinarily, building a bridge takes several years of design, securing rights-of-way and permitting before it goes out for bids, but PennDOT and the construction team are working out costs as the project proceeds.
The first two beams arrived from PennStress, a division of the MacInnis Group LLC in Blair County, about 12:55 p.m. Monday after a 124-mile trip. After the news conference, crews attached cables to the 100-ton, 150-foot-long beam and used a crane to lift it and rotate it into place on the first set of piers temporarily.
Two beams delivered Monday will be moved to the center of the structure Tuesday morning.
The state received a $25.3 million discretionary grant from the Federal Highway Administration to replace the bridge.
International design firm HDR and contractor Swank Construction Co. of New Kensington have been working under emergency contracts to replace the bridge since a few days after the collapse.
“In a normal bridge project, we would be in about year three if we were at this point,” Ms. Moon-Sirianni said.
Because of the bridge’s picturesque location above the park, some critics have criticized its plain design. PennDOT and the city said two local artists, John Peña and Carin Mincemoyer, both of Pittsburgh, have been engaged to look at what can be done to improve the aesthetic qualities.
Mr. Peña was selected to provide artwork to enhance bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists, while Ms. Mincemoyer was designated to integrate art for trail-users below bridge.
“This is in a beautiful setting,” Ms. Moon-Sirianni said. “There is a limit. We’re trying to do this without breaking the bank.”
One design change already has been added to the project: a crosswalk with signals midway between the end of the bridge and South Dallas Avenue on the Squirrel Hill side. That will provide safe passage for walkers and bikers using the mixed-use path in one side of the bridge.
The signals probably won’t be in place when the bridge reopens because there is an order backlog of about a year. For the same reason, the bridge likely will open with temporary lighting until steel poles arrive.
Mr. Gainey said replacing the bridge “means restoring connections” for the 21,000 vehicles that use it on a daily basis. He lauded the ability of the city, PennDOT and contractors to work together and quickly move the project along.
The bridge originally collapsed at about 6:45 a.m. on a snowy day, and several vehicles, including a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus, fell into Frick Park. Ten people were injured.
The National Transportation Safety Board is in the midst of an investigation that is expected to take as long as 18 months to determine the cause of the collapse.
Ed Blazina: eblazina@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1470 or on Twitter @EdBlazina.
First Published: July 25, 2022, 7:50 p.m.
Updated: July 25, 2022, 10:25 p.m.