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Liberty Bridge To Close For Repairs Related To Fire

Mark Nootbaar
/
90.5 WESA
Officials say the Liberty Bridge will close from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning for more repairs needed after the bridge caught fire in September.

A Pittsburgh bridge is closing over the weekend to repair damage caused by a construction fire last year.

Traffic on the Liberty Bridge will be closed in both directions from 3 p.m. Saturday to 11 a.m. Sunday.

The northbound side of the Liberty Tunnel will also be closed. All traffic will be detoured.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports crews will also repair an expansion joint that crosses the full width of the bridge.

State transportation officials and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration have said hot residue from a blowtorch ignited plastic piping and a construction tarp on Sept. 2. The construction was part of an $80 million rehabilitation project

A 30-foot chord designed to hold 2.4 million pounds of pressure buckled during the blaze. Its failure could've caused the bridge to collapse.

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