PITTSBURGH — The Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge is slated to reopen in the spring of 2026. It’s been closed to traffic since last year and drivers in Oakland have dealt with the added traffic headaches since then.
Now, there’s a new set of traffic issues less than a half mile away after the Panther Hollow Bridge also closed this weekend.
The Historic Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge will undergo a $56 million facelift that will make it safe to reopen for drivers.
“Those of us that use this and know that 20,000 cars per day, vehicles per day go across this bridge. This is really a major artery to get people from not just Squirrel Hill to Oakland but really anywhere in the eastern suburbs.” Rich Fitzgerald, former Allegheny County Executive said,
Monday, City officials joined others from the county and PennDOT to discuss what happens next.
“This is an incredible endeavor to try and engineer every little piece. We’re not tearing this bridge down. We are rebuilding the bridge piece by piece,” Councilperson Barb Warwick of District 5 said.
“As an Oakland resident and on behalf of my neighbors, I can say we are only too eager to get this bridge finished and to restore a really important connection,” Andrea Boykowycz, the Executive Director of Oakland Planning Department said.
Last year, city officials closed the bridge due to unsafe conditions, but you could still walk across it. Starting Nov. 4, the bridge will also completely close to foot traffic.
“We’ll be mobilizing on several million pounds worth of steel repairs and then digging into the complete rehabilitation after that,” DOMI Senior Project Manager Zach Workman said.
The project is less than a half mile away from another bridge that also closed due to safety concerns. Bridge analysts recommended closing the Panther Hollow Bridge because of weight limit concerns.
“They were doing an analysis of the steel tresses of the bridge and that’s the area they had the concern,” said Eric Setzler, Chief Engineer for DOMI.
While the Panther Hollow bridge is evaluated, drivers are going to have to follow a detour route that uses, Schenley Drive, Wightman Street, Beacon Street and Hobart Street.
Officials say they recognize the headache of having so many roads closed in Oakland, but Mayor Ed Gainey says he never wants to experience anything like the Fern Hollow Bridge Collapse again.
“I want to make sure that no bridges fall. It’s been a long time..you know this that these bridges were going where they wasn’t being inspected,” Mayor Gainey said. “If we get a report that says these bridges need to be shut down and need to be shut down right now so that there’s no more bridges that fall, we’re gonna do that.”
The city is evaluating the Panther Hollow Bridge. It’s not clear when it could reopen.
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