PITTSBURGH — Out with the old and in with the new: the Commercial Street Bridge, as we knew it, is no more after a controlled blast along the Parkway East, right around 8 a.m. Thursday.
“It came down perfectly. I commend the demolition crew; that was amazing work,” said Jason Zang of PennDOT.
“It was really quick. It was like, you see smoke, and boom - the bridge is gone,” said Kevin Lynch of Squirrel Hill
As for why the blast didn’t happen Wednesday as planned, PennDOT said contractors simply ran out of time, pointing out that every piece of dynamite was triple wrapped, which is routine for concrete bridges, and that the hot temperatures could have slowed workers down.
“Nothing went wrong, other than we were probably overly ambitious, trying to get it done, and we ran out of daylight. It’s really all that happened last night,” Zang said.
If you’re wondering why the bridge’s end supports were still standing after the implosion, PennDOT said that was by design.
“They were not intended to be imploded ... They will be brought down using mechanical, you know, conventional methods,” Zang said.
The big question now: when are crews going to slide the new bridge onto the Parkway East? PennDOT said the first step is to establish access for trucks and other equipment that will be brought in by clearing debris. The plan is for crews to slide the new bridge onto the Parkway East sometime next week, a tedious process that could take 25 to 30 hours.
“We’re hoping to come back and watch them move the bridge too. That’s pretty exciting,” said Jennifer Brodt.
“I think that’s the most amazing thing that they’re actually going move the gigantic structure,” Lynch said.
PennDOT engineers haven’t ruled out the possibility that this phase of the project finishes up early but said it’s too soon to tell.
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