$4.5M bridge project would reconnect Pittsburgh's Brighton Heights with Riverview Park

A proposed $4.5 million bridge project could reconnect Pittsburgh’s Brighton Heights neighborhood with Riverview Park.

The Civic Design Committee of the city’s Art Commission has approved plans for a new Davis Avenue bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists. Pending approval from the city’s Department of Mobility & Infrastructure, construction could begin this summer or fall, said department spokeswoman Emily Bourne.

The bridge would restore the connection that was lost when a former bridge in the area was demolished in 2009. The former Davis Avenue bridge was constructed in 1898.

Zachary Workman, senior project manager with the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, said the idea of rebuilding the span was in motion “the day the bridge came down.” He said the project has been in the works for years.

“There’s been really strong community support to have this connection utilized again,” he said.

The city is planning to use the original bridge’s abutments for the new span.

The project also would include a paved trail connection to Riverview Avenue, park signs, bench seating and shade and ornamental trees.

“It will be a great way to get more people into Riverview Park,” Workman said.

The bridge goes over Woods Run Avenue. Since the bridge was torn down, the nearest connection to park has been more than a mile away, according to information from the Art Commission.

Officials estimated that project funding would come from municipal bonds, grants and the city’s share of federal covid relief funding.

City officials this week announced the new bridge is one of several infrastructure projects that received a total of about $3 million in state grant money.

BikePGH offered its support in a letter to commissioners.

“The loss of the original Davis Ave Bridge caused significant barriers for adjacent neighbors to access the extensive green spaces and exercise opportunities that Riverview Park provides,” Executive Director Scott Bricker wrote.

The new span, he said, “will restore this access so that more Pittsburghers, no matter how they get around, can experience the benefits of living in close proximity to park amenities.”

Riverview Park “lost a key access point” when the prior bridge was demolished, Mark Masterson, chair of Friends of Riverview Park, said in a letter to commissioners.

“We need that link to Brighton Heights, the largest neighborhood in the Northside, and Riverview Park, the largest park on the Northside,” he said.