Rachel Carson Bridge reopens in Pittsburgh after lengthy closure

The Allegheny County Department of Public Works announced Monday that the Rachel Carson Bridge, formerly known as the Ninth Street Bridge, has reopened.

It’s been closed since February 2019 for a $23.3 million rehabilitation project. During the closure, the bridge had repairs to its steel structures and construction of a concrete deck. Services lines for utilities were installed. Expansion dams and drainage systems were replaced. The bridge has new sidewalks and lighting that resembles its look from the 1920s.

The sidewalk on the west side of the bridge – the one closer to the Andy Warhol Bridge – and the stairway to the Three Rivers Heritage Trail on the Downtown side will remain closed until early spring 2021, officials said. Several handrail posts need to be repaired.

The sidewalk on the east side of the bridge has reopened.

Motorists will notice a new lane configuration. Instead of four, with two in each direction, there are three.

When traveling from the North Shore, one lane will lead onto the bridge and widen out to two lanes at Fort Duquesne Boulevard.

When traveling to the North Shore, one lane will lead onto the bridge and then widen into two lanes on the other side.

The project is being completed by Brayman Construction and Advantage Steel and Construction, both of Saxonburg, through funding from PennDOT and the Federal Highway Administration.

The Rachel Carson Bridge opened in 1926. It is one of the three “Sister Bridges,” the only trio of identical bridges in the world and the first self-anchored suspension bridges in the United States.

This is the second rehabilitation project, following the Andy Warhol (Seventh Street) Bridge project in 2016-17. Rehabilitation of the Roberto Clemente (Sixth Street) Bridge is expected to occur between fall 2021 and spring 2023, according to a news release.