Latrobe’s Brewery Bridge is on track to fully reopen to traffic in December after the final beams arrived this week . 28 for rehabilitating the county-owned span on North Ligonier Street.
Throughout construction, which began in April, traffic across the bridge over Loyalhanna Creek has been one-way northbound. That has allowed direct access for ambulances headed from downtown Latrobe to Excela Health Latrobe Hospital on the city’s North Side.
Pedestrian access also has been maintained.
Motorists headed south, toward downtown, are detoured using West Second Avenue, Garfield Road, Unity Street, Lloyd Avenue and Main Street.
Bridge traffic was halted intermittently on Tuesday as a crane lifted nine beams, one at a time, from flatbed trucks and set three into place in each of three spans on the bridge’s upstream lane.
In the next several weeks, construction of the bridge deck will be underway, said county engineer Vaughn Neill.
Beech Construction Inc. of Pittsburgh is the general contractor for the $2.4 million project. Neill said the project is funded mostly by a federal transportation grant, with Westmoreland County responsible for 20% of the cost.
According to Neill, some final work on the bridge should extend into next spring.
Crews initially completed work on the downstream lane of the bridge, while traffic used the upstream lane. In late August, work switched to the upstream lane while traffic was shifted to the downstream lane.
Built in 1935, the bridge stretches about 175 feet across the creek. It is commonly referred to as the Brewery Bridge because of its proximity to City Brewing Company, on the south side of the creek.
The current project is replacing the bridge’s sidewalks — as well as the superstructure of beams and deck, which were reconstructed in 1974.
Once work is completed, the bridge will no longer be subject to weight restrictions (35 tons, 40 tons for combination trucks) that were put in place in 2013, according to Neill.
