Heavily Traveled Pittsburgh Bridge To Close For Nearly 2 Years

PITTSBURGH, PA — Getting to a Pirates game will be a bit more challenging for the next two seasons. The Roberto Clemente Bridge linking Downtown's Sixth Street and PNC Park on the North Shore will close on Feb. 14 for a $34.4 million renovation.

The bridge, which fans often cross on the way to see the Bucs, will close completely to vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle traffic until the project is completed in December 2023.

The rehabilitation project is the final portion of Allegheny County's Sister Bridges work. That began with the $25.4 million renovation of the Andy Warhol Bridge in 2016-17, and continued with the $23.3 million upgrade of the Rachel Carson Bridge in 2019-20.

The bridge is not structurally deficient like the Fern Hollow Bridge over Frick Park that collapsed last week. The Clemente span was inspected last year, and the deck, superstructure and substructure all were rated in fair condition and the inspection report states that the bridge's structural elements are sound.

Still, the work on the span will be extensive.

It will include repairs to the structural steel, repairs to the concrete-masonry substructure, replacement of the concrete deck and sidewalks, replacement of the expansion dams, refurbishment of the pylons, repairs to the stairs on the Downtown side, improvements to drainage, repainting of the bridge and handrails Aztec Gold, replacement of the navigational lighting, replacement of the street lighting to resemble its original appearance from the 1920s, replacement of the electric and gas utility lines under the bridge, and replacement of the posts used to separate the bicycle lanes from the vehicle lanes.

The Roberto Clemente Bridge opened in 1928 and carries 7,895 vehicles daily across the
Allegheny River.

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