Pedestrians worried about holes in Smithfield Street Bridge's sidewalks
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Pedestrians are concerned with some holes forming on a downtown bridge. The Smithfield Street Bridge has holes in the sidewalk, where you can see straight to the water below.
In walking both sidewalks, there are about 10 holes where you can see exposed metal and the greenish-blue color of the Monongahela River down below.
PennDOT says about 6,100 vehicles use the bridge each day.
"It's disappointing," said Rachel Yovich, who works downtown.
For the most part, the road didn't appear to be in as bad of shape as the sidewalks, which are used heavily to get people from Station Square to downtown.
"There was just spots where I could see further into the bridge than I would have felt comfortable," Stephanie Zamora said while in town from Kansas City.
Even messages like "don't look down" are written on the sidewalk. Just a few feet behind it is another hole leading straight to the river below.
"When I saw the rusted panels with holes in it and you saw the water through the holes, it makes you wonder about the condition and the integrity of the bridge," Steven Wolinsky said while visiting from Phoenix.
KDKA took that question to PennDOT. They maintain the bridge and say there are no structural integrity issues. If there were, safety measures would be taken immediately, up to and including a closure.
"You do have to watch where you step," Yovich said.
"Seeing spots where I could actually see through made me feel significantly less trusting of being able to be on the bridge," Zamora said.
According to PennDOT, repair crews are expected to address the sidewalks as part of an almost $8.5 million preservation project on the bridge. At this point, the bridge is still open.
"This is the city of bridges. There's so many bridges. We have beautiful bridges. You can't fix them all at once," Yovich said.
PennDOT says its work on the bridge is expected to begin this month. At this point, there is no exact timeline and when work will begin or any plans for possible closures. As soon as we learn more, you will too on air and online.
