Route 50 businesses plan for another weekend bridge closure

Another weekend, another closure for the Washington Pike Bridge, as crews continue demolition and reconstruction work.

The first step in this process was demolishing and replacing one-half of the bridge using accelerated bridge construction techniques to make these much-needed changes, intended to alleviate traffic on this major artery between Bridgeville and South Fayette

In the meantime, businesses on Route 50 remain open, with some of them having to adjust, along with their customers.

“It was kind of a ghost town last week,” said Mia Massetti, manager at LaBella Bean Coffee House & Eatery.

For the last 21 years, Victor Nardo of South Fayette has started his day the exact same way: getting his favorite cup of coffee at LaBella Bean.

“This is a great place,” Nardo said. “It usually takes a couple minutes to get down here.”

But the last two weekends, the trip has taken him 15 minutes or more…but he will still go every day.

“No, it doesn’t stop me. It never stops me,” Nardo said.

Bridgeville business owners are working around closure, helping their customers navigate the detours and around other roadwork as well.

“A truck driver got off the Bridgeville exit, and he realized he can’t get in over the bridge, so he called and said, ‘How do I get there?’” said Jason Sarasnick, owner of Sarasnick’s True Value Hardware

“We try to accommodate all of our customers…maybe offer like a free coffee or special discount for returning customers, so they always find a way to get their way here,” said Massetti.

People told Channel 11 they’re keeping a positive attitude, excited about the free parking this weekend and the end result: a 7-lane bridge.

“The Bridgeville police are doing a phenomenal job,” Sarasnick said. “It’s a temporary problem for a long-term solution.”

“That’ll help a lot because that light is long sometimes and the traffic just lines up,” Nardo said.

PennDOT officials said Friday in addition to this weekend and last weekend, there will be one more weekend closure. It is for deck overlay work and is weather permitting, so PennDOT plans to schedule that at a later time

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