Commercial Street Bridge demolition echoes across Pittsburgh
The Commercial Street Bridge on the Parkway East has been reduced to a pile of rubble following an explosive demolition on Thursday morning.
The demolition happened around 8 a.m. and the blast brought down the 75-year-old bridge in just seconds, sending a large plume of dust into the air as debris fell down into the valley below the structure. The implosion had been scheduled to happen on Wednesday, but it was postponed after crews ran out of daylight.
PennDOT says demolition "went according to plan"
Following the demolition of the bridge, PennDOT held a briefing to provide an update on how the morning went for crews on scene. PennDOT District 11 Executive Jason Zang said he was "happy to say that went extremely well."
"It went according to plan," Zang said. "No damage to the new bridge."
The new bridge had been wrapped in a protective layer to help prevent any damage from the explosion, officials said.
Zang said that now that the bridge has been demolished and is down at ground level, crews are already working on cleanup and getting to the next steps of the project. Zang said it looks like "World War II down there."
"The next major portion of this bridge project is to slide the new bridge into place," Zang added, saying that he expects the slide to happen sometime next week.
However, the slide won't happen quickly. The 22-million-pound replacement bridge will move about 19 feet per hour and could take 25 to 30 hours, according to officials. PennDOT says it will be one of the largest lateral slide projects performed in Pennsylvania.
Onlookers gather to watch bridge implosion
Several onlookers gathered in the Summerset at Frick Park development on Thursday morning, watching from high above the blast to take in the sights as the structure was demolished. Many arrived with cameras and binoculars to watch the "social moment."
"It was really cool," Kevin Lynch said. "It happened much quicker than you thought. You kind of heard the boom, you saw the smoke, and boom, it was gone. It was really different, though."
While the 25-day closure is in effect, traffic is being detoured through multiple routes, and so far, the traffic impacts have remained at a minimum. The Parkway East is expected to reopen in early August.
The closure, which went into effect on July 10, impacts a section of the Parkway that sees about 100,000 cars a day.
