It's not that Al Worsley doesn't accept change and progress, but sometimes, memories get in the way.

The state Department of Transportation will close the 87-year-old Route 8 Main Street Viaduct to vehicles Saturday as it prepares to build and connect the northbound lanes of a new bridge to Main Street in Butler.

On Sunday, people can take a final walk across the structure before demolition begins Monday.

Worsley wants to be the last person to cross the old bridge. "I can't even estimate how many times in my life I've crossed the bridge, but probably more than anybody else that's left that used to live on the hill," Worsley said. "Why do I want to be the last one? Memories, I guess."

Worsley, 74, grew up in a house on the South Main Street hill south of Butler. He remembers walking across the old bridge many times. He remembers the bridge when it was a "gem," when he used to ride down South Main Street hill on a bobsled and his speed would take him and his friends to the middle of the bridge.

"Some days I'd walk across it six times," he said. "I'd walk to school, walk home for lunch and back, and after school sometimes Mum and I would take the cart and we'd go to the A&P (on West Wayne Street)."

Worsley spent four years in the Air Force during the Korean conflict, stationed in Tripoli. When he returned to Butler, he worked in the family store.

His dad, Al Worsley Sr., had opened a wallpaper business in 1927 on the third floor of Troutman's department store. In 1945, the store was moved to 132 W. Cunningham St. and unfinished furniture was added to the inventory. Paint became part of the business in 1957 and it moved to is current location at North Main and North streets in 1963.

Worsley, his wife, Lorraine, and daughters Keri Dolan and Cheryl Worsley continue to run the store, known simply as Worsley's.

Keri and Cheryl walked across the bridge with Dad when they were kids. "He had long legs and we could hardly keep up," Cheryl Worsely remembered.

With the closing of the bridge late afternoon Saturday, Route 8 will remain closed in that area for 15 weeks. Traffic will be detoured from Route 8 through Lyndora on Hansen Avenue to Route 356 back to Butler. Signs have been posted to guide traffic through the detour route.

The work is part of the $23 million Route 8 Main Street Bridge project that will replace the deteriorating two-lane bridge with a new four-lane bridge on a new alignment south of the existing location.

Recognizing the unique character of the bridge and its landmark status in the city, PennDOT met with a community aesthetics group to incorporate special features into the new bridge. Some of those features include ornamental lighting, a vintage pedestrian railing and textured concrete surfaces for abutments, retaining walls and one pier. A sidewalk will also be constructed on the east side of the new structure and 56 lighted parking spaces will be added beneath the bridge.

In addition, the project includes improvements to the southern intersection of Route 8 and Brugh Avenue, Morton Avenue and South Main Street. This intersection will be retained with traffic signals after the existing bridge is removed. The roadway between the intersection and the new alignment will be rehabilitated and redesigned as a two-lane roadway with a continuous center lane for left turns onto Pittsburgh Pike, Coal Street and Roosevelt Boulevard.

The project is about 50 percent complete, and construction is expected to conclude next year.

Visit www.mainstreetviaduct.comfor more information on the project. A virtual image of the bridge is also available at the Web site.