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Lights Return to Wilmerding Bridge
County plans major rehab project in 2026; span carries nearly 9,000 vehicles per day
By T.J. Martin
The Tube City Almanac
April 28, 2025
Posted in: Wilmerding News
Patton Street Bridge (T.J. Martin photo for Tube City Almanac)
After more than a month in darkness, the lights are back on along the Patton Street Bridge in Wilmerding.
An electrical issue caused the lights which illuminate the bridge to fail in early March, according to Assistant Deputy Director of the Allegheny County Department of Public Works Mike Burdelsky. Repairs were completed earlier this month.
Burdelsky said the outage and repairs won’t affect a rehabilitation project for the bridge scheduled to begin in 2026. That project will completely close the bridge for an estimated one year beginning in 2027.
The 426-feet long four-lane bridge carries an average of 8,720 vehicles per day over Turtle Creek, Norfolk Southern railroad tracks, Wall Avenue and Avenue U. It was built in 1971 and last rehabilitated in 1999.
The proposed two-year project calls for the replacement of the bridge deck, which is the portion of the bridge which is driven on, and the updating of the bridge lighting.
Also planned is replacement of the sidewalk, barriers separating the sidewalk from the bridge deck, the sidewalk protective fence and pedestrian hand railings, bridge drainage, expansion dams and expansion bearings. The traffic signals will be replaced, new concrete approach slabs will be constructed and ADA-compliant curb ramps will be installed.
Repairs will be made to the bridge’s concrete sub-structure and its structural steel members and the steel members will be sandblasted and painted.
The rehabilitated bridge deck won’t include concrete barriers like those that now separate the two directions of traffic. Instead, they’ll be separated simply by a double yellow line.
Originally published April 28, 2025.
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