\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWith just over two weeks to go until the Parkway East closure, Thursday marked a big day for the historic Commercial Street Bridge Project.Crews closed Commercial Street, which runs under the bridge, to do a test slide of the new bridge. The road, as well as nearby Forward Avenue and a portion of Nine Mile Run Trail, will be closed to traffic from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.”It sounds simple to just slide it, but it’s a very complex system, so this is really just a test of that system. We will move it a foot, and then we will move it back,” PennDOT District 11 executive Jason Zang said. Will the new bridge have a new foundation or use some of the old one?Tim, a viewer from Mount Washington, wrote to Pittsburgh’s Action Traffic asking about the foundation for the new bridge.PennDOT officials confirmed that none of the existing bridge’s foundation will be reused.According to Zang, over the past year or so, crews working on the project constructed new permanent foundation supports under the existing bridge. So the foundation that will be used is already in place and ready to “accept” the new bridge. Zang stressed that there are extensive protections in place to keep the foundation safe during the blast and slide. As for the new bridge, it has been sitting on a temporary foundation driven more than 40 feet into the ground. Once the slide is complete and successful, crews will remove the temporary supports located in Frick Park. Do you have questions about the project, the work or the detours? Send us an email at traffictip@wtae.com.FULL BREAKDOWN OF THE DETOURS: Click here\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tPITTSBURGH \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
With just over two weeks to go until the Parkway East closure, Thursday marked a big day for the historic Commercial Street Bridge Project.<\/p>\n
Crews closed Commercial Street, which runs under the bridge, to do a test slide of the new bridge. The road, as well as nearby Forward Avenue and a portion of Nine Mile Run Trail, will be closed to traffic from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.<\/p>\n
“It sounds simple to just slide it, but it’s a very complex system, so this is really just a test of that system. We will move it a foot, and then we will move it back,” PennDOT District 11 executive Jason Zang said. <\/p>\n
Will the new bridge have a new foundation or use some of the old one?<\/p>\n
Tim, a viewer from Mount Washington, wrote to Pittsburgh’s Action Traffic asking about the foundation for the new bridge.<\/p>\n
PennDOT officials confirmed that none of the existing bridge’s foundation will be reused.<\/p>\n
According to Zang, over the past year or so, crews working on the project constructed new permanent foundation supports under the existing bridge. So the foundation that will be used is already in place and ready to “accept” the new bridge. <\/p>\n
Zang stressed that there are extensive protections in place to keep the foundation safe during the blast and slide. <\/p>\n
As for the new bridge, it has been sitting on a temporary foundation driven more than 40 feet into the ground. Once the slide is complete and successful, crews will remove the temporary supports located in Frick Park. <\/p>\n
Do you have questions about the project, the work or the detours? Send us an email at traffictip@wtae.com.<\/p>\n