Liberty Bridge will not reopen Monday; no new date set by PennDOT

PITTSBURGH — The Liberty Bridge will not reopen Monday, as was previously planned, and could be closed for several more weeks, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said Friday.

A PennDOT spokesman said repairs to the bridge are taking longer than expected because of additional safety measures that are needed after fire damaged a beam two weeks ago.

“If we errored, it was in putting out a deadline in the first place,” H. Daniel Cessna, district executive for Engineering District 11-0, said.

Cessna said they won't be be setting another deadline incase it is missed and to avoid frustrating drivers further.

“We are making excellent progress and working as quickly as we can, but we will not take shortcuts to speed the process,” said Daniel Cessna.  “We have brought in highly regarded national experts to validate our process and recommend additional safety measures.”

There was no new timetable for when the bridge will reopen, and engineers are working around the clock to make it safe for the 58,000 drivers who use normally use the bridge.

“It could be weeks. It won’t be months,” Cessna said Friday.  "We have a world-class team to make sure we do these repairs properly."

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PennDOT emphasized that this is a very complex repair and something that's never been done before, in part because crews will need to physically move the entire bridge. PennDOT said in a news release:

PennDOT's highest priority is safety.  While the goal is to reopen the bridge as soon as possible, the department will not jeopardize public safety in an effort to expedite the repair.  Additional safety measures on the complex repair have been identified and will require more time.  In the end, the repair will allow PennDOT to have a structure that is completely safe.

The bridge will be moved one to two inches to properly install the a new  30-foot beam safely.

The contractor, Joseph B. Fay Co., continues to pay $213,000 each day that the bridge remains closed. Workers from the company that was refurbishing the bridge used a blowtorch that sparked a fire on the bridge Sept. 2, officials said.

The fire was so intense that the beam started to melt, and the bridge itself was very close to giving way.

Safety measures being taken as part of the repair process include an additional external bracing system in the area where the bridge is damaged. Crews will use a heat-straightening process to try to reshape a badly damaged support cord. Experts are also recommending extra safety steps.

"Because this heat-straightening process is slow and methodical it's going to take considerably more time than we thought. But the benefit to that is it will help us with the permanent repair," Cessna said.

While officials are focusing on making safe repairs, drivers are wondering when their commutes will get back to normal.

"The fire was 1,200 degrees, that's enough to bend steel. Thank God no one was hurt, but it's going to be a pain in the butt for a little while and there's nothing we can do about it except bear with it," said commuter Zack Dean.

Jim Wilkinson, executive vice president of the Joseph B. Fay Co., released the following statement Friday:

A single-lane restriction will continue in the inbound Liberty Tunnel. The outbound Liberty Tunnel and McCardle Roadway will remain open. Additionally, Brady Street will reopen to traffic as an alternate route. All Liberty Bridge traffic will continue to be detoured.

POSTED DETOURS:

Northbound (inbound)

• Take Route 51 (Saw Mill Run Boulevard) northbound

• Take the exit to I-376 West/U.S. 19 South toward Carnegie/Airport/West End

• Take Exit 69A toward U.S. 19 South/Banksville Road

• Keep left and loop back to I-376 eastbound toward Fort Pitt Tunnel

• Follow eastbound I-376 through Fort Pitt Tunnel and across the Fort Pitt Bridge

• For access to I-279 destinations, follow I-279 signage; all other destinations take exit toward I-376 East/Monroeville

• Take the left exit 71A to Grant Street

• Turn left onto Grant Street

• End detour

Southbound (outbound) from downtown Pittsburgh

• Take Grant Street to I-376

• Take the ramp to West I-376 toward Fort Pitt Bridge/Airport

• Follow I-376 westbound across the Fort Pitt Bridge and through the Fort Pitt Tunnel

• Take Exit 69A toward South 19 Banksville Road

• Keep left and loop back to eastbound I-376

• Take Exit 69B toward South Truck U.S. 19/Route 51 Uniontown

• Merge onto southbound Route 51 and follow back to the Liberty Tunnel

• End detour

Southbound (outbound) from westbound Route 885 (Boulevard of the Allies)

• From the Boulevard of the Allies, take the ramp to North I-579 to I-279 Veterans Bridge exit

• Take the Convention Center/Seventh Avenue exit

• Turn right onto Grant Street

• Turn left onto 11th Street

• Continue straight onto the 10th Street Bypass

• Take the I-376 West Fort Pitt Bridge/Airport exit

• Follow I-376 westbound across the Fort Pitt Bridge and through the Fort Pitt Tunnel

• Take Exit 69A toward South 19 Banksville Road

• Keep left and loop back to eastbound I-376

• Take Exit 69B toward South Truck US 19/Route 51 Uniontown

• Merge onto southbound Route 51 and follow back to the Liberty Tunnel

• End detour

Southbound (Outbound) From Route 380 (Bigelow Boulevard)

• From PA 380, take the Consol Center/Sixth Avenue exit

• Take the Sixth Avenue Exit

• Turn right onto Grant Street

• Turn left onto 11th Street

• Continue straight onto the 10th Street Bypass

• Take the I-376 West Fort Pitt Bridge/Airport Exit

• Follow I-376 westbound across the Fort Pitt Bridge and through the Fort Pitt Tunnel

• Take Exit 69A toward South 19 Banksville Road

• Keep left and loop back to eastbound I-376

• Take Exit 69B toward South Truck U.S. 19/Route 51 Uniontown

• Merge onto southbound Route 51 and follow back to the Liberty Tunnel

• End detour

Southbound (outbound) from I-279 Parkway North

• From southbound I-279, take the I-279 South Fort Pitt Bridge Exit

• Take the South I-279/To I-376 Fort Pitt Bridge/Airport Exit

• Take the West I-376 Fort Pitt Bridge Exit

• Follow I-376 westbound across the Fort Pitt Bridge and through the Fort Pitt Tunnel

• Take Exit 69A toward South 19 Banksville Road

• Keep left and loop back to eastbound I-376

• Take Exit 69B toward South Truck U.S. 19/Route 51 Uniontown

• Merge onto southbound Route 51 and follow back to the Liberty Tunnel

• End detour

To help keep motorists informed as work progresses, PennDOT has created an email distribution list for Liberty Bridge traffic advisories and construction updates. Enroll by sending email addresses to stcowan@pa.gov and write “Subscribe – Liberty Bridge” in the subject line.  Additionally, project information, including driving simulations for each traffic configuration and detour route maps, can be found at

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Stay with Channel 11 News and WPXI.com for continuing coverage. 

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