Highly traveled Pittsburgh area bridge down to one lane due to large crack on the deck

A busy bridge over Interstate 79 is down to one lane as of Thursday after PennDOT discovered structural issues. The decision to take it down to one lane was made out of an abundance of caution for drivers both on and under the bridge. 

Eastbound drivers rolling along Mt. Nebo Road found themselves having to make a reluctant right-hand turn onto I-79 southbound, or in some cases, turn completely around on Thursday morning. 

"Well, I'm surprised because I didn't know," one driver said. 

Just as the morning rush began, drivers found out that the bridge was down to only the westbound lane. According to PennDOT engineers, a large crack was discovered on the underside of the bridge deck. Overnight crews did their best to remove the loose concrete and found that a large portion of the bridge had deteriorated. 

Now, not only is the bridge highly traveled, but there is a lot of traffic that goes under it each day on the interstate. This led to crews closing one side of the bridge so that further inspections could be done. 

Signage is now in place to tell drivers hw they can get to the other side of the bridge by using I-79 southbound to the Route 65 exit, then circling back north on the interstate. 

Not everyone was interested in the detour, though. 

Well, I don't do highways, so I need to use that road unless there's another back road," another driver said before admitting they were just heading back home. 

As to whether the other lane is going to be closed, PennDOT engineers are going to be getting back under the bridge to see if the crack has extended into any other portions of the bridge.