The good news out of Allegheny County is that traffic still will be able to cross the Homestead Grays Bridge when the reconstruction starts in March.

The bad news is that traffic will be limited to one lane in each direction for 18 months.

Once that's done, there will be a traffic reprieve of a few months before the same process starts on the Rankin Bridge.

Anyone who has crossed both the Homestead Grays Bridge and the Rankin Bridge can see they both need work.

The plan some years ago was to close the Homestead bridge, diverting traffic to the Rankin and Glenwood bridges. When the Homestead bridge was done, the Rankin Bridge was to close.

Allegheny County Public Works Director Tom Donatelli said the engineers had found a way to keep traffic flowing in one lane in each direction during reconstruction of both bridges.

He said project engineers originally thought that only span 5 on the Homestead bridge would have to be closed for repairs, which would have required shutting down the entire bridge.

Those problems were worked out, he said, and the bridge should remain open from the time construction begins in March until the fall of 2006.

As for how bad traffic will be, Donatelli said, "It's backed up now."

In late 2006, drivers may appreciate all the waiting they did for a year and a half.

Each lane will be 18 inches wider, which should help speed up traffic because the vehicles won't be so bunched together. All of the expansion joints will be replaced, and the bridge will be cleaned and painted, with new sidewalks, lighting and barricades along the side.

Donatelli said the lanes would be widened by cantilevering the support for the outer part of the bridge from the main structure.

"It's like hanging a bracket off a building," he said.

One item of the estimated $28 million renovation that has not been settled is the color the bridge will be painted.

Donatelli said the county was working with local historians to find the original color scheme.

One sure thing, he said, is that the Homestead Grays Bridge will not sport the "Aztec Gold" featured on Downtown bridges.

Once the work is done on the Homestead Grays Bridge, the Rankin Bridge work will be put out to bid. The work on that bridge is scheduled to begin in early 2007, with completion in 2008.