Tarentum Bridge to close for improvements, affecting thousands of motorists

Motorists who use the Tarentum Bridge will need to find another way across the Allegheny River for roughly half of June.

PennDOT said a 16-day closure of the bridge will begin at 7 a.m. June 9 and continue until late in the day June 25. About 30,000 vehicles use the bridge daily.

PennDOT spokeswoman Yasmeen Manyisha said poor weather could push back the scheduled construction dates.

The 16-day closure will allow crews to replace joints on the bridge and the latex deck. The work is part of a larger $3.2 million project that is expected to be completed in the fall.

“We need the 16-day closure to give us the time and the space to allow our crews to work safely and allow everything to happen in a timely manner,” Manyisha said.

Posted detours will reroute traffic to the New Kensington Bridge.

Representatives of area businesses said they have been anticipating the bridge closure, knowing it will inconvenience some employees and customers.

Eric Ziencik, manager at JG’s Tarentum Station Grille, said that while he knows business will be impacted, he’s confident customers will find a way to get to the restaurant. He said he also is concerned about the employees.

“We do have some employees who live over in Lower Burrell, so they’re definitely going to have to add time to their trip,” he said.

Ziencik said he will be affected personally, noting he buys liquor at the Fine Wine & Good Spirits store in Lower Burrell.

“I’ll have to go over the New Kensington Bridge now,” Ziencik said. “With traffic and everything, that could add at least another half-hour, especially the way traffic can back up on a bridge.”

Like most pizza places, Fox’s Pizza Den in Tarentum relies on its ability to make speedy deliveries. Nate Leslie, a cook at Fox’s, said he also is concerned about employees who use the bridge to get to work.

“We have a driver or two that use that bridge daily, so that will definitely affect them,” Leslie said.

“Sometimes, if we ever run out of things, we go to Giant Eagle (on the other side of the Tarentum Bridge),” Leslie added. “So that will definitely affect us getting supplies.”