Detours May Cause Headaches for Drivers, Pedestrians, and Bicyclists After the Pittsburgh Bridge Collapse – CBS Pittsburgh

By: Shelley Bortz / KDKA-TV

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The daily loss of Fern Hollow Bridge will occur during the Monday morning rush hour.

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Drivers have been using the detour since Friday, when the bridge collapsed, but many people living in the area said they wouldn’t know the impact the detour would have on commutes until morning.

“I think we’ll find out next week,” said Geoffrey Hutchinson, a resident of Squirrel Hill. “My guess is Penn Avenue and here near Dallas, they could be a lot busier.”

About 14,000 vehicles cross the Fern Hollow Bridge every day, not counting cyclists and pedestrians. Now those people will have to find alternative routes to get where they need to be.

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“I think any time we get to the eastern part of the city here, we’re probably going to have to plan an extra 10 to 15 minutes just to make sure we get that detour,” said Drew Batoha, resident Squirrel Hill resident said .

(Photo Credit: KDKA)

Going into the city, Parkway East is likely to see backups as motorists won’t be able to get off at the Edgewood/Swissvale exit to Forbes Avenue to avoid the tunnel. On the way out of the city, the detour will also take South Dallas and Penn Avenues to South Braddock Avenue.

City officials say they are working to give people updates on what the next step is.

“We’re talking about having some community meetings just to discuss what’s going on, detours, bus routes, drop off and pick up,” said Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O’Connor . “Those are the kinds of questions you see every day and now we just disrupted your daily life. So we have to make that information public.”

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The port authority said the detour situation could change over the next 24 to 48 hours.