Emergency closure of bridge in Swissvale impacting drivers, bus routes

SWISSVALE, Pa. — Barricades are up and the Washington Avenue bridge in Swissvale is closed.

“It’s been obvious for some time that there’s been a lot of problems with this bridge, I mean, you can see the rust on it,” said Dave Juliette, who lives in Swissvale.

>>>PHOTOS: Emergency closure of Washington Avenue Bridge in Swissvale

The borough shut down the bridge to vehicles and pedestrians, according to Borough Manager Greg Bachy, after two drivers reported feeling movement while driving over it Thursday.

“That bridge has been there forever,” said John Tessitore, who lives and works nearby.

The bridge was built in 1907. It is owned by Norfolk Southern and connects Monongahela Avenue with Noble Street.

“This is like a main artery,” said Tessitore.

Drivers say that detouring around the bridge only adds a few extra minutes, but it’s worth the inconvenience to avoid a disaster like the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse in January.

“When there’s problems, it’s too late when people get hurt,” said Joe Colondrea, who lives in Swissvale.

Thousands of vehicles travel the Washington Avenue bridge each day, including Pittsburgh Regional Transit buses.

The transportation company has rerouted the 59, P7, and P71 to avoid the closure, but the East Busway is still running underneath.

The bridge received a poor grade when it was inspected in 2018.

The borough reports that it received a poor grade again in March this year.

“It’s just a shame that we have to do these things under duress instead of having a program where bridges are maintained on an ongoing basis,” said Juliette.

Barricades will remain in place for the duration of the closure. It’s unclear how long that will be, but Bachy said it’ll likely be several months.

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