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Pittsburgh, PA – Governor Tom Wolf and Mayor Ed Gainey are announcing the newly constructed Fern Hollow Bridge has opened to traffic today, Thursday, December 22. 

At approximately 1:30 p.m. the Fern Hollow Bridge opened to a single-lane of bi-directional traffic. Additionally, the shared use path on the southern side of the structure is open to bicycles and pedestrians. The reopening is occurring a day earlier than anticipated due to the incoming winter storm. 

The bridge, which carries Forbes Avenue over Frick Park, is owned and maintained by the City of Pittsburgh. The bridge is opening a mere 11 months after the structure collapsed on January 28, 2022. 

Immediately following the collapse, Gov. Wolf and Mayor Gainey issued Declaration of Disaster Emergency Proclamations, which allowed the City of Pittsburgh to enter into a legal agreement to allow the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to manage the design and construction of the new Fern Hollow Bridge. The proclamations also provided the Federal Highway Administration and PennDOT the approval to immediately contract with Swank Construction Company and HDR Inc. for the removal of the collapsed structure, and the design and construction of the new Fern Hollow Bridge.

Thanks to collaboration with the City of Pittsburgh and PennDOT’s innovative approach to the standard design process, multiple design phases occurred simultaneously including foundation, substructure, superstructure, utility relocation, environmental and aesthetic aspects of the project, which allowed project delivery to be expedited by multiple years.

Wingwall work, a bridge deck overlay, park restoration, and miscellaneous construction activities will continue on the project through the spring of 2023. Additional closures are anticipated to complete the deck overlay work. Details will be provided in advance of any major restrictions. 

Information on the construction of the new Fern Hollow Bridge can be found on PennDOT’s website. To learn more about transportation investments across Pennsylvania, visit projects.PennDOT.gov.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

Information about infrastructure in District 11 including completed work and significant projects, is available at http://www.penndot.gov/D11Results. Find PennDOT’s planned and active construction projects at www.projects.penndot.gov.  

Follow PennDOT on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/511PAPittsburgh and like the department on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PennsylvaniaDepartmentofTransportation and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pennsylvaniadot/.  

MEDIA CONTACT: Maria Montano (City of Pittsburgh) - 412-500-6669

  Steve Cowan (PennDOT) – 412-334-5436