New Kensington Bridge reopens to traffic

The New Kensington Bridge reopened to traffic, a couple days earlier than planned.

PennDOT announced Friday that the bridge, which spans the Allegheny River between East Deer and New Kensington, reopened after it was closed for about six weeks.

The 10th Street underpass on the New Kensington side of the bridge also reopened.

While the bridge was closed, crews conducted dam and bearing replacement, latex overlay, paving and other work. Steel repairs and painting will continue on the bridge with intermittent lane restrictions during weekdays through the end of the year, with a break expected for winter, PennDOT said.

The bridge’s underpass in East Deer remains closed.

The bridge was originally scheduled to reopen on Labor Day.

Motorists aren’t the only ones happy to hear the bridge is reopened.

Tarentum police, who’ve dealt with extra traffic and increased accident rates on the Tarentum Bridge, which handled much of the overflow traffic from the bridge closure, are happy to see more normal traffic patterns return.

Their Facebook account took a lighthearted stance, celebrating the reopening and imploring motorists who normally use the New Kensington Bridge to “stay off ours,” referring to the Tarentum Bridge.

The closure was part of a $24.59 million preservation project that began in March. The bridge was named in 1984 for former state Rep. C.L. Schmitt. About 15,850 vehicles cross it daily.

Shuttle services were used during the bridge’s closure. Traffic was diverted to the Tarentum Bridge, which crosses the Allegheny River and connects another part of New Kensington to Tarentum.

“I’m really glad that it opened early, especially with this being a holiday weekend,” said New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo. “Making the bridge safer is certainly a priority, and they’ve done an outstanding job.”