The Roberto Clemente (Sixth Street) Bridge connecting downtown to the North Shore will close long-term beginning Monday, February, at 6:00 a.m. for a two-year bridge rehabilitation project expected to end in December 2023.

All outbound vehicle traffic will be detoured using Fort Duquesne Boulevard, the Andy Warhol (Seventh St.) Bridge, Sandusky St., E Lacock St., and Federal St.

All inbound vehicle traffic will be detoured using E General Robinson St., Sandusky St., the Andy Warhol Bridge, and Fort Duquesne Boulevard.

Bicycle and pedestrian traffic will be detoured using Fort Duquesne Boulevard, the Andy Warhol Bridge, and Isabella St.

The Three Rivers Heritage Trail will remain open near the bridge – on the North Shore and Downtown – for the duration of the project.

About the project:

The $34.4 million bridge rehabilitation project – the third Sister Bridges rehabilitation project – is being completed by by Mosites Construction and Development Company of Robinson, and is expected to end in December 2023. Funding is coming from the Federal Highway Administration, PennDOT, and Allegheny County.

It follows the previously completed $25.4 million Andy Warhol Bridge rehabilitation project in 2016-17 and the $23.3 million Rachel Carson Bridge rehabilitation project in 2019-20. Unlike those projects, however, this Roberto Clemente Bridge rehabilitation project will not result in a new lane configuration when completed – keeping one lane in each direction for vehicle traffic and two bicycle lanes.

Work will include repairs to the structural steel, concrete/masonry substructure, and stairs (on the downtown side); replacement of the concrete deck, sidewalks, expansion dams, navigational lighting, street lighting (to resemble its original appearance from the late 1920s), electric and gas utility lines under the bridge, and delineator posts used to separate the existing bicycle lanes from the vehicle lanes; refurbishment of the pylons; improvements to drainage; and repainting of the bridge and handrails Aztec Gold color.

Additionally, cleaning of the exposed masonry surfaces on all three of the Sister Bridges will be done along with placement of rock scour protection around the piers of the Roberto Clemente and Rachel Carson bridge's piers in the Allegheny River. The handrails on the bridge side of the Fort Duquesne Bridge will also be repainted Aztec Gold as part of this project.

The approximately 11,000 locks on the bridge will be remove during the rehabilitation project and donated to the Industrial Arts Workshop of Hazelwood. Residents and visitors who placed locks on the Roberto Clemente Bridge are encouraged to remove them before Monday.

About the bridge:

Opened in 1928 and today carrying 7,895 vehicles daily across the Allegheny River, the bridge is one of the only trio of identical bridges in the world, and the first self-anchored suspension bridge system in the United States. It was last inspected in 2021 when the deck, superstructure, and substructure were all rated "5" or in "fair" condition. The report states that the bridge's "primary structural elements are sound..."

Source: Allegheny County Department of Public Works

Image Credit: @lilcheezygrits