As contractors prepare to finish sliding the new Commercial Street Bridge into place, PennDOT says the Parkway East is on track to reopen ahead of schedule.
PennDOT District 11 Executive Jason Zang said the highway is now on track to reopen by the middle of next week, several days ahead of its Aug. 3 forecast.
“We are actually looking at an early opening,” Zang said.
Zang said the reopening timeline moved up following workers’ “wildly successful” operation to slide the new bridge into place, which he thought would take between 25 and 30 hours instead of just 7. He praised PennDOT’s contractors at HDR and Fay for designing a system that “fit like a glove.”
“That went way quicker than what we were thinking it would take… I’d like to say that the two highest-risk operations are now behind us,” he said, also referring to the demolition last Thursday.
PennDOT began sliding the new bridge using a greased rail system and dozens of hydraulic jacks around 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, and had moved the bridge 96 of the required 102 feet by 5:30 p.m., Zang said.
Contractors intentionally stopped six feet short to ensure the new bridge sits perfectly on its foundations — a process that involves more than 100 anchor bolts to hold it in place, Zang said.
He expected the bridge to be in place by Monday afternoon.
Much of PennDOT’s remaining preparatory work to reopen the Parkway will be mundane, but still important, Zang said. Tasks will include installing concrete barriers, paving the asphalt, and applying a protective coating of impermeable polyester polymer concrete.
“We don’t want to have to touch this bridge for at least 30 years, so that will protect the concrete deck and it’ll help extend the life of that concrete deck for future generations,” Zang said.
PennDOT is well on its way to completing the other minor work it planned to address during the Parkway East closure.
Workers have installed skid-reducing high-friction surface treatments on both approaches to the Squirrel Hill Tunnel, paved inside the tunnel and trimmed trees in the area, Zang said. They are preparing to repaint the lines inside the tunnel and inspect it, he said.
The Parkway’s reopening could bring an early end to PennDOT’s detour routes, which have frustrated drivers since the highway closed on July 10. Zang noted that the detour routes each took around 45 minutes to drive — a 15-minute increase from the same time last week that he speculated was because more commuters were willing to brave them.
Zang confirmed Commercial Street itself, which runs under the bridge, will likely remain closed until Aug. 3 regardless of whether the project timeline moves up.
