Motorists will face traffic disruptions in two areas of Pittsburgh’s North Side beginning Monday as the city starts improvement projects on the Swindell Bridge over Interstate 279 and bridge that connects the 31st Street Bridge with Washington’s Landing.
Swindell, which has been rated in poor condition since 2009, will close through Friday while a contractor installs temporary work platforms under the structure. Crews will use the platforms to take measurements for new steel beams and prepare the site for installation work during another 28-day closure over the summer.
The bridge will reopen once the prep work is done. The new beams will be fabricated off-site and delivered to the bridge for installation on the western end beginning in late June.
The bridge, which connects Perry South and Northview Heights, was closed for two months last summer after construction material from a construction project fell onto the highway below. It has been open with lane restrictions since.
The interim project, which will cost $540,000, will improve pedestrian safety and eliminate lane restrictions. The structure is scheduled for a two-year, $27 million rehabilitation beginning in late 2026 that will include additional steel and concrete repairs, a new deck and full painting.
The other project will close what is known as the 30th Street Bridge that serves as the primary access to Washington’s Landing for vehicular traffic until early October. Motorists will use River Avenue to enter the island, and a temporary traffic signal will be installed at the River Avenue-30th Street intersection, where traffic will be reduced to a single reversible lane.
The $1.84 million project will replace expansion joints, install a new latex modified concrete overlay on the deck, repair sidewalks and railings and upgrade lights. Additionally, the sidewalk on the 30th Street Bridge will be closed until July 5, and all pedestrians and bicyclists will be detoured across the Herr’s Island railroad trestle trail bridge at the southwest end of Washington’s Landing.
Tractor-trailers also will be prohibited from the construction area at various times during the project because the site is too narrow for them to navigate.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.