A public meeting to discuss the first steps in fixing the bridge on the Parkway East that goes over Four Mile Run will take place tonight at 5:30 p.m. at Greenfield Elementary School.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation along with the Federal Highway Administration and the engineering firm, McCormick Taylor, will present their plan for a feasibility study to figure out what the options are to rehab and replace the bridge and talk about future work plans. The meeting offers community groups, local residents and Parkway East drivers an opportunity to tell the project team what they think about it.
About 120,000 vehicles, including 9,000 trucks, travel across this bridge on I-376 over Four Mile Run and Schenley Park everyday, according to PennDOT. The bridge dates back to 1951 and was most recently given a fair rating from PennDOT inspectors.
The first steps for the study include a bridge inspection and review and analysis of what’s known about the bridge and its structural needs. Property owners in the area will receive letters that say members of the study team may need to access their property to conduct surveys and utility studies, for example. They don’t mean that the property “will be directly impacted by the project,” only that the project team might need access while they figure out how to design the new bridge, according to PennDOT.
The study team will coordinate with those working on the $26.1 million project to replace the nearby Swinburne Bridge that supports Frazier Street from Oakland to Greenfield. Construction on that project is expected to start next year.
