Few will argue that the worst bridge in Pittsburgh is on Lower McArdle Roadway, part of the route between the South Side and Arlington Avenue, the Liberty Tunnels and the Liberty Bridge.
Steel erected in 1933, by now badly rusted away, still can support a three-ton weigh limit. But the span crossing Norfolk Southern Railway tracks might not last another two or more years before the city can renovate it. The condition is so precarious that the Department of Public Works does a weekly inspection.
What's a person living on Windom Street to do?
"It intersects right on the bridge and we have no other outlet," said Dave Logan, writing on behalf of himself and neighbors who live there. "I'm sure they'll allow us access during construction, but we'd like to know when that will happen."
The small, virtually isolated neighborhood near the bottom of Mount Washington received no advance warning when the city put up concrete barriers in the middle of the night about six years ago and closed Viaduct No. 2 just off Arlington, the other bridge on Lower McArdle Roadway. A $1.5 million repair job was done and No. 2 reopened in mid-2004.
The city could not close and repair Viaduct No. 1 at the same time as No. 2, because pack mules would have been the only way landlocked people on Windom Street would have been able to get to and from their homes.
There's new concern not only because of rapidly progressing deterioration of the bridge but also because school buses and trucks exceeding the 3-ton weight limit have been exacerbating the problem. Their drivers are unfazed by the chance they take of a bridge collapse and undeterred by city police ticketing on several occasions.
City Public Works Director Guy Costa said the city might be forced to restrict the bridge to one direction on a single lane across the middle, not quite as unstable as the outside edges of the structure. The bridge might even have to be closed soon.
Plans for renovating the bridge are not under way. The city also must line up $3.5 million in federal, state and city funds to pay for construction.
The bad news couldn't come at a worse time, Mr. Logan said, because a multimillion-dollar condominium complex called Windom Hill Place is being built, a project welcomed by Windom Street residents.
I suggested erecting an overhead barrier at both ends of Viaduct No. 1 to prevent vehicles higher than a car or pickup truck from passing. PennDOT has used this strategy on several of its failing bridges to discourage overweight vehicles.
"We're looking at that," Mr. Costa said. "I have a feeling we'll be forced to close it before we get it under construction. The longer we can keep it open, the better off we are."
According to the GBI (Grata Bridge Index), the second worst city-owned bridge is the Greenfield Avenue Bridge, the landmark 83-year-old concrete arch spanning the Parkway East near Squirrel Hill.
In 2003, after nets were no longer adequate to catch concrete falling from the bottom of the bridge, the city built a bigger, stronger structure over the parkway. It was called a "temporary bridge" for added protection from falling debris for more than 100,000 vehicles a day that travel beneath.
The safety bridge, which cost $652,000, is tantamount to Dumpsters spanning the highway. It was to be removed after the Greenfield Avenue Bridge was repaired. That was supposed to happen in 2004 or, at the latest, last year.
Surprise! The repairs have yet to start.
The strange-looking structure over the Parkway East, an interstate highway, is a mystery to visitors.
The Greenfield Avenue Bridge above it continues to crumble, a mystery to no one who commutes to and from Pittsburgh.
What's up with PennDOT?
Officials south and east of Pittsburgh found out "what's up" at a recent series of comprehensive, informative "community outreach" programs held by PennDOT.
Borough council members, township road supervisors and other municipal representatives had a chance to interact with PennDOT's top people, make them aware of local problems and learn specifics about major projects, upcoming resurfacing jobs and myriad services and programs.
I don't compliment PennDOT often, but after attending one of the sessions put together by Uniontown-based PennDOT District 12, I told Chief Executive Joe Szczur: "Good job!" Even Mr. Know-It-All learned a new thing or two.
Then I wondered why PennDOT District 11 doesn't do the same in its three-county jurisdiction, which includes Allegheny County.
District 11 Executive Dan Cessna, on the job for nine months, said he planned to introduce community outreach programs next year.
"I had several major things I needed to get moving in a positive direction before I could hold these public sessions," he said. "This is occurring as we speak. We will be prepared to do it next year."
We'll hold the new guy to his word.
Potpourri
Pittsburgh police Chief Dom Costa and Mayor Bob O'Connor cited Port Authority mechanic Frank Maruca for heroics for helping police capture a purse-snatcher at Calvary Cemetery, Hazelwood. After the thief grabbed a purse from an 87-year-old woman, Mr. Maruca chased him, following him into a house known for drug activity while his wife, Carol Maruca, called police. The purse belonged to a friend of the family, the Marucas learned later.
The Mon Valley Progress Council, prime backer of the Mon-Fayette Expressway, has set April 20 as the day of its 41st annual dinner meeting, based on the availability of Mr. O'Connor as keynote speaker. He'll join a long list of public officials to go on record supporting the toll road to Pittsburgh. Ex-mayor Tom Murphy, long an expressway roadblock, was always persona non grata at the affair.
Elsewhere
Boston's public transit agency has lent a portable electric substation to New Orleans so the flood-devastated city can restore streetcar operations on Canal Street.
Believe it!
Pennsylvania's 10 cement plants produce the nation's fourth biggest volume of Portland cement, the main ingredient of concrete, ranking behind California, Texas and Michigan.
Plate du jour
Post-Gazette colleague Sally Kalson recently spotted the Pennsylvania personalized license plate NO TAXES on a car parked Downtown. She doubts that its owner is a state legislator.
First Published: March 26, 2006, 5:00 a.m.
