Contractors armed with jackhammers were well on their way Monday to poking huge holes in the old Commercial Street Bridge ahead of its $95 million replacement, even as worst-case scenario traffic failed to materialize along the project’s detour routes during the day’s rush hours.
The demolition of the 75-year-old Commercial Street Bridge on the Parkway East was proceeding as planned, according to Nicole Haney, a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokeswoman.
Contractors had demolished three of the bridge’s five spans — or the surfaces between its supports — and work was “on schedule,” Haney said.
Once the bridge deck is demolished, workers will detonate hundreds of explosives to bring down the rest of the structure.
PennDOT District 11 Executive Jason Zang said the detonations are on track to happen this week.
Zang believes the initial traffic headaches will be the toughest since drivers still are figuring out how to navigate the closures.
“It usually gets better from there as people decide they don’t want to get stuck in traffic (and) decide on a different route,” he said Monday morning.
Traffic at key detour roads such as Eighth Avenue in Homestead and Penn Avenue in Wilkinsburg was heavy during Monday’s evening rush hour, though not at a standstill.
Zang’s comments came during the first of many anticipated PennDOT media briefings about the bridge closure and evolving traffic situation.
PennDOT plans to hold them every Monday and Thursday until the new bridge opens Aug. 3.
Zang said contractors will continue to work through the heat — expected to climb into the mid-90s this week — to facilitate the bridge move, which he said could take place as early next week.
Crews will use a greased rail system to slide the new bridge into place.
“These are tough people,” Zang said of the contractors. “They work in snow and ice and hot weather. They’re not going to stop.”
Drivers saw traffic standstills along detour routes over the weekend, including backups at the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead that lasted for hours.
Zang attributed the jam to Union Pacific’s famous Big Boy train, which attracted large crowds that took PennDOT by surprise as it passed through Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.
“They were lining both sides of the track as far as you could see,” Zang said. “When the train went through, everybody tried to get out of there at one time.”
Zang said PennDOT adjusted traffic signal timings in the area to get traffic moving but expected the excess buildup in Homestead to be the exception rather than the rule going forward.
“I don’t foresee that happening again,” he said.
Dividends paid
The bridge replacement project is forcing drivers to detour around a heavily traveled portion of the parkway, which is closed between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and the Edgewood/Swissvale exit.
Traffic cameras along the detour routes showed steady streams of traffic by 7 a.m. Monday.
PennDOT’s online trackers showed traffic slowing in the area, but both major detour routes took around 30 minutes to navigate on average Monday morning, Zang said — just a few minutes longer than they would have taken before the closure.
Marge Bibb of Jeannette told TribLive late last week she was planning to start work a little earlier in order to avoid traffic for her commute into the city. On Monday, it seemed to work out well.
“I ended up taking Route 30 to Lincoln Highway, going past Kennywood to the Homestead Bridge,” Bibb said. “I left around 4:50 a.m. this morning and was at my building (Downtown) by 5:38 a.m.”
Zang said PennDOT invested in traffic signals along the detour routes over the last year, and they were “paying dividends so far.” An agency command center is monitoring the signals and the roadways to look out for accidents and backups.
“We will continue to make changes if we need to, any kind of tweaks,” he said.
A dedicated 511 web page shows travel times along various detours and displays live camera feeds of the routes.
Demolition this week
People appeared to be migrating to public transit options Monday morning. The Swissvale Station Park and Ride reached full capacity before 10 a.m., according to Pittsburgh Regional Transit, and the Hamnet Station Park and Ride in Wilkinsburg was nearing capacity at that time.
PRT has seen a “slight uptick” in park-and-ride usage along the East Busway, according to spokesman Eddie Phillipps, who said staff are continuing to monitor lots to alert riders if they are full.
“Our advice remains the same: leave early, take transit if you can, and allow extra time for travel,” he said.
The Westmoreland County Transit Authority’s commuter service remained at “normal levels,” according to Executive Director Alan Blahovec.
Residents have told TribLive they are concerned about traffic, and some plan to steer clear of the posted detour routes if possible.
PennDOT also will use the closure as a chance to conduct other maintenance work along the stretch, like paving inside the Squirrel Hill Tunnel, replacing median barriers and painting bridges.
Firefighters, EMS and Squirrel Hill Tunnel crews will launch an emergency response drill, capitalizing on a rare opportunity to practice without impacting traffic.
Those interested can watch the bridge replacement project unfold in real time through a livestream on PennDOT’s website.
Julia Burdelski and Adam Babetski are TribLive staff writers. Julia can be reached at jburdelski@triblive.com, Adam at ababetski@triblive.com.