All 4 Beaver County bridges reopened after bomb threat
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Four heavily used bridges in Beaver County were closed this morning because of bomb threats called in from a phone booth, effectively cutting off traffic in the Beaver Valley.
By 11:10 a.m., the state Department of Transportation announced that all the bridges had been reopened after inspectors found no problems.
Dan Marsula, Post-Gazette
Locations of the four bridges closed by bomb threat in Beaver County.
The Monaca-East Rochester Bridge reopened after 8 a.m. The Route 68 Beaver Rochester Bridge, the Rochester Bridge and the Bridgewater Bridge were open by 11:10 a.m.
Engineers, bomb-sniffing dogs, members of the Allegheny County Police bomb squad and other law enforcement personnel joined PennDOT workers in sweeping the spans from top to bottom in their search for suspicious-looking devices or packages.
The bridges were closed shortly after midnight as a precaution after the bomb threat was phoned in from a pay phone and the receiver was left off the hook, enabling authorities to trace the call. When they arrived, police said they found a note about a bomb being left on one of the four bridges.
It took several hours to assemble emergency crews who would inspect the spans, which cross either the Beaver or Ohio rivers.
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman Jim Struzzi said some bridge engineers were awakened during the middle of the night and sent to Beaver County to assist with the searches. At least one 'snooper crane' was on the scene, a truck equipped with hydraulic arms and a bucket that PennDOT uses to reach over the sides and under structures.
Traffic had to detour over Route 60, the Ambridge Bridge or the Fallston Bridge.
A command center was established at the Beaver County 911 center to coordinate activity. Officials said they contacted the nation's Homeland Security Office about the incident.
While traffic was heavy on alternate routes around the closings, a tractor-trailer accident occurred nearby on Toll 60.
Although both southbound lanes were closed early this morning at Beaver Falls Exit 31, drivers could get around by exiting and re-entering the interchange. State police said traffic was light anyhow. Both lanes were expected to be reopened by mid-morning.
More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
First Published February 1, 2007 12:00 am
