Weekend closures, lane restrictions expected with Tarentum Bridge project

PennDOT plans to close the Tarentum Bridge for several weekends while preservation work is being done.

The work is scheduled to start in the fall, stop for the winter, continue in the spring and be finished next summer, PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said Tuesday.

About 30,000 vehicles cross the bridge over the Allegheny River daily.

The schedule is based on PennDOT taking the project out for bids in early August. Cowan said right-of-way issues may delay that. If that happens, work may not start until spring.

PennDOT plans to work on a part of the bridge known as “ramp B,” which carries traffic from the bridge to Tarentum.

The project includes structural steel repairs, painting the structural steel girders, concrete substructure and bearing repairs, expansion dam replacement and placing a new overlay on the bridge deck, according to a PennDOT letter to New Kensington officials.

“The traffic will be down to a single lane westbound during non-rush hour periods during the week, and there will be full closures during the weekends,” Cowan said.

Seven weekend closures are planned, Cowan said.

Four will be in both directions, while three will be on the side traveling into Tarentum only. They will run from 8 p.m. Fridays to 6 a.m. Mondays.

Placement of the overlay will require an extended closure that will close the bridge in both directions for almost a week, Cowan said. He said that will run from 8 p.m. on a Friday to 6 a.m. the following Thursday. There are no dates for the closures scheduled, and no detour information was provided.

In June 2019, several chunks of concrete fell from the ramp. No one was hurt, and no damage was reported.