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Getting Around: Two good ideas to ease bad delays
Sunday, January 09, 2000 By Joe Grata, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
O-o-o-h, no-o-o-o! I could almost hear the groans after Tuesday morning's article, "Barrels of No Fun," rolled off the presses and told readers for the first time what to expect in the coming highway construction season.
About $65 million of the highly disruptive work will be undertaken on both sides of the Allegheny River, between Point State Park and the Ninth Street Bridge.
The projects cover the next phase of Fort Pitt Bridge-related ramp repairs; relocating Fort Duquesne Boulevard for a riverfront park; rebuilding General Robinson Street to better serve PNC Park and the new Steelers stadium; and replacing the worn concrete "Commons" streets that constitute the traffic square around Allegheny Center Mall.
Drivers and pedestrians will encounter a virtual fortress of orange-and-white barrels, which will be brought out of winter storage seven weeks from now.
The article listed about two dozen other big projects in the region, including repairing the concrete and paving five miles of Interstate 79 south of the Ohio River and closing the Glenwood Bridge for seven months to replace the deck, parts of which are already at the bottom of the Monongahela River.
While you yell, pout and point the (index) finger, remember several things.
Face it. We can't win.
The county is responsible for the Glenwood Bridge. The deck is in such bad shape that engineers were fearful that cars, workers or equipment would tumble into the river if they tried to maintain traffic on two of the four lanes during the construction.
OK. I hear you asking...
Do these people stay awake at night, crafting ways to put us through traffic torture? Do they care about us? The city? Where's the common sense? Where's the imagination? Where's the enterprise?
I want to share just two reactions I've received about the coming work. One is an e-mail from a reader; the other, the result of a chat with Allegheny County Public Works Director Tom Donatelli.
The reader, Tim Smyth of Gibsonia, a Pittsburgh commuter, relayed what seems to be a reasonable idea when the Fort Pitt Bridge, Fort Duquesne Boulevard and North Shore work are under way at the same time.
Because getting around will be so difficult, he asks, "Why not allow all traffic, not just vehicles with two or more occupants, to use the I-279 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes" to exit the city after the morning rush hours?
Why not?
The HOV outbound has entrances next to Three Rivers Stadium, Anderson Street on the North Side, and Bedford Avenue next to Mellon Arena, all "fringe" locations for some traffic to escape Downtown and avoid adding to tie-ups elsewhere.
Donatelli said he was surprised to learn through Tuesday's article that PennDOT plans to do $1 million in road repairs at the south interchange of the Glenwood Bridge at the same time the bridge is to be closed.
The county presumed all lanes and ramps would be fully available to detour traffic to and from Pittsburgh via Route 837 and West Carson Street.
"PennDOT never told us this," Donatelli said. "Do you think [PennDOT district engineer] Ray Hack could postpone it until we're done?"
Why not?
The interchange of Glass Run Road, Route 885 and Route 837 has been in such bad shape for so long that another year isn't going to make a big difference.
Besides, PennDOT already had one crack at the area two years ago. A contractor replaced concrete slabs at the south end of the Glenwood Bridge in checkerboard fashion, ignoring many bad slabs. While traffic was limited, the entire interchange should have been redone, and Donatelli would not be facing the problem he does.
Since then, PennDOT has been forced to make emergency repairs twice on a Streets Run Road overpass in Hays. And the same Glass Run Road overpass that had to be patched five times last year has been patched once this season and needs it again.
Can we do better?
O-o-o-h, ye-s-s-s!
Factoid. Montana, with a population of less than 900,000 people, has some 1,100 miles of interstate highways. New Jersey, with a population of more than 8 million people, has about 110 miles. -- International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association
Plate du jour. Dan Romaniello of Brookline recently spotted this Pennsylvania license plate on a new Mercedes-Benz being driven by a well-dressed woman: WAZ HIZ. Get the message?
Send your transportation questions, complaints and suggestions to Joe Grata c/o The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, or e-mail him at jgrata@post-gazette.com Include your address and phone number, please.
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When it comes to highway and bridge construction, there's a real dilemma. When the transportation infrastructure wears out or becomes inadequate, we complain about potholes, rough rides, weight limits, inconveniences, congestion. When government agenies fix the situations, we complain about single-lane restrictions, detours, delays and contracts that seem to last forever.