A section of Parkway North (Interstate 279) in Ross will be closed overnight up to 40 times while a bridge over the highway is being demolished.
The work on Jacks Run Road Bridge No. 3 is expected to start in late April and finish in October, Ross Manager Jessica Crawshaw said. The closures related to the demolition were mentioned during the Ross commissioners meeting Monday.
The periodic closures would be from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. weeknights, 9 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Saturday, and 9 p.m. Saturday to 9 a.m. Sunday.
Allegheny County has hired Swank Construction to tear down the bridge, which has been closed since July 2025 after inspectors found corroded steel in a pier on its northern end.
The dates for closing the highway — northbound, southbound or both at the same time — have not been finalized, said Brent Wasko, spokesman for the Allegheny County Department of Public Works. Routes for official detours have not been announced.
As part of the county’s contract with Swank, the company is permitted to close northbound I-279 for up to 23 days, and southbound up to 16 days. How many times the highway might be closed in both directions at the same time was not yet known, Wasko said.
The number of closures could be reduced if Swank does not need them to complete its work, Wasko said.
The demolition includes removal of a natural gas line and the construction of a temporary structure over I-279 to support a temporary gas line so service is available for next winter.
The 205-foot, two-span bridge was built in 1986 as part of the construction of I-279. The damaged pier that prompted the closure will be removed as part of the replacement, and the new bridge will be a single span with a new north abutment.
Since being closed in July, traffic has been detoured using Brighton Road, Lincoln Avenue, North Balph Avenue and Bellevue Road.
A new bridge is not expected to open until fall 2027.