Maintenance work on Pittsburgh's Swinburne Bridge starts Monday

A $230,000 maintenance project on Pittsburgh’s Swinburne Bridge is scheduled to begin Monday, and officials said the work could result in short-term delays for motorists over the next four weeks.

A portion of one traffic lane will be closed while crews work on the bridge that connects South Oakland and Greenfield. Closures will occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., city officials said. Flaggers will direct alternating traffic.

Repairs planned include replacing the deck joint seals and restoring the southern concrete abutment.

Temporary measures were taken on the abutment in late October, and this project will complete that work, officials said.

Mt. Lebanon-based Michael Facchiano Contracting is performing the maintenance work.

The work is part of a larger project to replace joint seals on 14 bridges across the city. The work is ongoing. The city is spending nearly $700,000 on the project.

The Swinburne Bridge, which goes under Interstate 376 and over Saline Street, is a critical link between Four Mile Run, South Oakland, Greenfield, Hazelwood and Downtown.

The span is rated in poor condition and was one of 13 bridges in the city that experts identified as needing immediate work in a comprehensive bridge report commissioned by Mayor Ed Gainey and released in December.

City officials said the planned repairs are needed to maintain the bridge’s condition and keep it open to the public while a separate, full-replacement bridge project is in the works.

The span, built in 1915, will be completely replaced through a project in partnership between the city, the Federal Highway Administration and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Officials said it “lacks modern principles of bridge design which provide increased redundancy and decreased future maintenance needs.”

The bridge replacement project is in the preliminary design phase, according to city officials. Construction is expected to begin in 2024, according to the city’s Engage PGH platform.