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Four buses detoured around Kenmawr Bridge
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Four bus routes that run through Swissvale and Rankin are being detoured indefinitely due to a weight restriction on the Kenmawr Bridge.
The bridge, which spans the two boroughs on South Braddock Avenue, has had a weight restriction of 6 tons -- buses weigh 15 to 22 tons -- since the end of January. Beginning Feb. 1, the Port Authority began detouring four routes around the bridge, said spokeswoman Heather Pharo.
The bridge is jointly owned by Swissvale and Norfolk Southern, she said. Norfolk Southern trains run on tracks underneath the bridge.
Dave Pidgeon, a spokesman for Norfolk Southern, said the bridge is to be maintained under a shared agreement between Norfolk Southern and Swissvale but couldn't provide any details about bridge repairs.
Carmine Russo, Swissvale's public works director, did not return a call seeking comment on the status of repairs to the bridge.
The four routes -- the P7 McKeesport Flyer, the 59 Mon Valley, the P71 Swisshelm Park-Rankin Flyer and the 71 Edgewood Towne Centre -- are being detoured indefinitely. Ms. Pharo said riders on some of those routes could face 10- to 15-minute delays due to the detours, which she said are complicated.
"We went out and we looked at different alternatives, and kind of timed it out, and there's really no good way to detour without taking that kind of a hit on time," she said.
The Port Authority updates its schedules quarterly. She said the June schedules will reflect the new times on the detoured routes.
First Published March 7, 2013 5:22 am
