Washington Pike Bridge in the South Hills closed until Monday

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — A heavily traveled bridge in the South Hills is officially closed until Monday morning.

The Washington Pike Bridge is the main way that Bridgeville and South Fayette connect.

Now, drivers will have to find different ways to get around as the bridge undergoes a massive facelift.

It all started Thursday morning, with crews removing the traffic light at Chartiers Street where it intersects with Route 50 in Bridgeville. A police officer directed traffic there for the majority of the day while PennDOT workers started prepping for the complete shutdown of the Route 50 Washington Pike Bridge, which took place at 9 p.m.

Matt Tague uses the bridge every day.

“Gotta go 79 instead I guess. So yeah,” Tague said. “They’ve been working on this for a long time. I’m ready for them to finish it up.”

PennDOT says the bridge, which is right above Chartiers Creek, will be seven lanes when it’s completed. They’re using Accelerated Bridge Construction techniques to make the changes.

“We have some of the oldest roads and bridges in the country so it needs to be done. I understand, I’ll just plan new routes,” said Christine Caito, who uses the bridge several times daily.

Here’s a look at the posted detours:

West of the Bridge (South Fayette side):

•     Take Millers Run Road (Route 50) westbound

•     Take the ramp to northbound I-79

•     From northbound I-79, take the Heidelberg/Collier (Exit 55) off-ramp

•     Follow to Route 50

•     End Detour

East of the Bridge:

•     Follow Route 50 eastbound

•     Turn left onto the ramp toward I-79 Erie/Washington

•     Take the I-79 South ramp toward Washington

•     From southbound I-79, take the Route 50 Bridgeville (Exit 54) off-ramp

•     Turn right onto Route 50 (Millers Run Road)

•     Follow to Washington Pike (Route 50)

•     End detour

It’s a lack of traffic business owners, like Jason Simoni, are worried about. Simoni owns the Crafty Jackalope on Route 50.

“Thursday through Sunday is the busiest time of the week so I can’t imagine it’s going to be fun,” Simoni said. “All these small businesses on Route 50 here depend on that access and I guess it’s too early yet to see what it really will be in terms of a negative impact.”

Because a lot of people also use this bridge to walk across, a temporary pedestrian shuttle will help out with that over the weekend.

The hours of service will occur from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day.  The pedestrian stops will be located in the following locations:

• The intersection of Route 50 and James Street in Bridgeville
• The intersection of Route 50 and Millers Run Road (Route 50)/Washington Pike (Route 3003)

For safety reasons, people in the area are being asked to avoid the construction zone. PennDOT will have time-lapse cameras at the site.

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