After six months of traffic cones and detours near Schenley Park in Oakland, an end to some of the congestion is down the road. The Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge is set to open to traffic next year and engineers are finalizing a plan to fix up the nearby Panther Hollow Bridge.
Last fall, work began on a $56 million project to repair the Charles Anderson Bridge — a span that carries the Boulevard of the Allies between Schenley Park and Oakland that’s been closed since February 2023. Since then, crews have been at work making steel repairs, painting, and asbestos abatement among other improvements. The project is on track to open up to traffic in the fall of 2026.
Right before the city was about to begin work on the bridge, inspectors found deterioration to the nearby Panther Hollow Bridge, which connects Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens to Schenley Park near the swimming pool. The city shut down the bridge indefinitely while they did further inspections. Those inspections are now complete and engineers are working on a final plan for how to repair the bridge’s steel truss system. Construction should begin “shortly thereafter,” according to a city press release.
Across town in Brighton Heights, the final span of the Davis Street pedestrian bridge was lifted into place earlier this month. Crews are putting in the final touches of paving and landscaping and people should be able to walk back over it by Memorial Day weekend.
Nearby, the Wilkesboro pedestrian bridge that connects Brighton Heights to California is going to be demolished. The bridge has been closed since 2007 and its current condition is a “known hazard” to the community, according to Mayor Ed Gainey in the release. The city hasn’t set a date for demolition but warns people to stay away.
