Some major Pittsburgh-area roadway projects are slated to either start or continue in the New Year, including work on the Liberty Bridge. Phase one of construction on the span started in 2015 and despite a structure fire that threatened to delay progress, it was competed in 2016.
“In 2017, work on the Liberty Bridge, what’s most important will be to complete the bridge deck overlay,” said Dan Cessna, PennDOT District Executive. “Folks have asked why they don’t have a smooth ride over the bridge and it is, in fact, because the final layer of concrete has not been placed yet.”
The majority of the work on the top of the bridge will be finished in 2017, according to Cessna, but other projects to complete the rehab will likely not be completed until at least mid-summer 2018. Any lane and ramp closures will be announced and clearly marked closer to construction, he said.
The Liberty Tunnels will also be undergoing some maintenance, though Cessna said that won’t impact traffic.
“There will be some weekend closures and some overnight closures in each direction as we complete pavement work and also as we complete additional life safety systems improvements,” he said.
Those life safety systems include the fans that keep airflow going through the tunnel.
Work will also be done on the Liberty Interchange, where the tunnel opens to South Hills neighborhoods and suburbs. That patching and repaving work is expected to take just one season, according to Cessna.
Parkway North will also be getting a major upgrade starting in 2017. Southbound lanes from Camp Horne Road to Ft. Duquesne Bridge will make up the first phase.
“This will be a full rehabilitation of the entire pavement surface, including all the main travel lanes on the interstate, in addition to the HOV lanes,” said Cessna.
The $95 million will likely continue into 2018 and later, he added.
“We will also be doing bridge preservation work on 30 structures on overhead structures, there are 49 of those and we’ll be repairing 29 walls along that highway.”
Other 2017 projects include a continuation of work on I-376 near the airport and a new project on a different stretch of I-376 from Montour Run Road to McClaren Road.
A PennDOT spokesperson said a full construction overview will be released in late March or early April, which will detail all of the planned roadwork in Allegheny County.
