Over one-third of the 1800 bridges in the greater Pittsburgh area are structurally deficient, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) plans to spend $175 million to repair 66 of the substandard bridges in southwestern PA next year. This year, PennDOT has spent nearly $92 million to replace five bridges, rehab six, and preserve 76 others in Allegheny, Lawrence, and Beaver counties.
One of the most well-known repairs occurred on the Birmingham Bridge, which was closed for months while crews corrected a pier that caused the floor of the structure to drop a few inches. Some of the bridges in need of repairs, or that are currently undergoing repairs, include:
The $96 million that was invested in structurally deficient area bridges this year is nearly double the amount that is normally spent in a year. Next year’s bridge work will begin in the spring of 2009.