Despite a fire on Pittsburgh’s Liberty Bridge last month, contractor Joseph B. Fay Co. missed by only four days a milestone to open the bridge’s fourth lane to traffic. After the Sept. 2 fire melted 30 ft of the lower-chord truss that carried substantial loads, Fay and the Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation worked around the clock for 24 days to repair and realign the bridge temporarily. But even before the incident, the Oct. 19 milestone loomed: Crews had to open the bridge’s fourth lane to preconstruction traffic conditions.
The fourth lane was fully reopened on Sunday night, Oct. 23, after a weekend closure allowed crews to remove barriers, conduct line eradication and installation, and shift the overhead lane control system.