The Swindell Bridge on Pittsburgh's North Side — a nearly century-old structure that has been rated poor for 13 years — was closed to traffic July 1 after construction work caused debris to fall from its underside and onto Interstate 279 below, city officials said.
No one was injured in the accident.
After an initial inspection of the bridge was conducted, the city announced July 2 that the bridge, which connects the Perry South and Northview Heights/Spring Garden city neighborhoods, will remain closed to vehicles until at least the middle of this week.
Crews were back on the scene July 3 and continued inspecting the structure over the holiday weekend to find the cause of the incident and how long the bridge's roadway may have to remain shut down.
"We will not hesitate to keep this bridge closed for the safety of our citizens," Mayor Ed Gainey said in the hours after the debris fall. "If the inspection comes back and tells us that this bridge is no longer safe for traffic, we will act immediately."
The incident that led to the closure occurred shortly before 11 a.m., according to Allegheny County emergency officials. City spokesperson Maria Montano said it was unknown who initially reported the situation to authorities, but it was likely a motorist.
What exactly fell from the bridge as well as the size of the debris was unknown, although it was "large enough to cause concern," Montano said.
Gainey's office also noted that the flow of traffic on I-279 will not be affected by the inspection.
Swindell Bridge Was Undergoing Repairs
The Post-Gazette reported that city crews had been making repairs to the bridge, including milling and paving, since June 24. The work was scheduled to wrap up July 1, but its finish has been delayed because of the incident, according to the city.
Plans were already in place for larger repairs on the bridge to be done later this year, the newspaper noted.
The Swindell Bridge has been rated poor since 2009 and has required an inspection every six months, the last of which occurred in May.
The Post-Gazette obtained an inspection report from November that noted the structure had multiple deficiencies, including breaks with exposed rebar in the bridge deck, missing seal in an abutment and leaking strip seals.
A team of city inspectors went to the bridge two months ago after residents complained about the number of potholes in the structure. Gainey said at the time that the city "will not hesitate" to close the Swindell Bridge if the inspectors thought it necessary.
The steel cantilevered Pratt truss bridge was built in 1930 and rehabilitated in 1990, according to the website, historicbridges.org. The main span of the Swindell Bridge is 545 ft. long and 25 ft. wide.
Old Steel City Bridges Under Microscope
The condition of Pittsburgh-area bridges has been under greater scrutiny in recent months following the January collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge in Squirrel Hill that injured 10 people.
And the falling debris from the Swindell Bridge on July 1 may not be the first to fall from the span, according to one witness account.
According to Cody Burzynski, a commercial carpenter from Ross, a piece of debris hit his vehicle while he was driving under the span on June 6. Before passing under the bridge, he spotted a piece of black debris coming off the bridge.
"I thought it was a bird, so I didn't think anything of it," Burzynski said. "When we got under the bridge it hit the roof of my car."
Back at his home, Burzynski said he found a mark about the size of a baseball on the roof of his vehicle, about 6- to 8-in. up from the windshield.
"I knew it had to be concrete with rebar in it," he explained. "Both my wife and I are commercial carpenters, so we know what it looks like."
Neighborhoods Around Bridge Ready for Fixes
Some Perry South residents said that the closing of the bridge will not affect them too much.
In speaking with the Post-Gazette, Betty Davis, a South Perry resident since 1976, said that while the bridge closure is an inconvenience, neighborhood drivers know alternate routes to get to the other side of the Parkway North.
"[The city has] been patching up that bridge for 10 years," she said. "At one point, you could see down to East Street through a hole in the bridge."
Another resident, Davina Rose, said she purposely avoids driving over the bridge.
"It was [never] a very good bridge," she said. "It was down to one lane, which I didn't feel good about."
But Rose worries about increased traffic on "already busy" Perrysville Avenue nearby as motorists seek alternate routes because of the shuttered bridge.
On the Spring Garden side of the bridge is Engine Company 38, a Pittsburgh fire station that typically uses the span to reach neighborhoods west of I-279.
Deputy Fire Chief Bernard Mohan told the Post-Gazette that contingency plans were put into place the evening after the incident in case of an emergency in Perrysville South or other neighborhoods across the interstate.
Pittsburgh Regional Transit also will be affected by the bridge closure, as the 15-Charles bus helps Northview Heights residents reach downtown Pittsburgh. The bus has since been detoured, according to Adam Brandolph, a spokesperson of Pittsburgh Regional Transit.
Foot traffic is still allowed on the Swindell Bridge, but jersey barricades have been put in place to block vehicles from getting onto the span.
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