Clemente Bridge reopened after suspicious package investigated
Pittsburgh’s Roberto Clemente Bridge was closed to traffic Friday for about two hours as police investigated a suspicious package.
The bridge reopened around 12:30 p.m.
“The device was determined to not pose a threat to the public,” said Chris Togneri, a spokesman for the city’s public safety department. “It did not have the potential to cause an explosion, but it was definitely designed to look like a dangerous device.”
He declined to describe what it looked like.
The package was found on a closed-off walkway leading from the river walk to the north side of the bridge. The package did not contain explosives but it looked like a convincing explosive device, he said.
A person walking along the river spotted the package and flagged down a nearby police officer around 10:30 a.m., Togneri said. The officer requested that the bomb squad investigate the package.
The bomb squad first sent a robot to look at the package and then a man in a protective suit.
Assistant News Editor Aaron Aupperlee contributed to this report. Tom Davidson is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tom at 724-226-4715, tdavidson@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TribDavidson.
Tom Davidson is a TribLive news editor. He has been a journalist in Western Pennsylvania for more than 25 years. He can be reached at tdavidson@triblive.com.
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