Work on McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge could disrupt traffic

If you frequently travel the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge, be prepared for possible delays for the next month as PennDOT crews begin work to preserve the bridge.

You could call the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge Elizabeth Canova's second home. The White Oak resident knows it all too well. She drives across it six days a week, four times a day, to get to and from work.

"It's definitely a part of my life, my everyday," Canova said.

It's why the potential for more traffic doesn't exactly thrill her.

"I don't have much time in the day anyway as it is," Canova said. 

That could be the case from now until mid-March as PennDOT shifts traffic on the bridge to install netting and other protections for the cars that will be traveling on it when crews work on a two-year preservation project on the bridge.

"It's going to make my life a little bit harder," Canova said. 

PennDOT said the work will take place daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will still be one lane of traffic each way, and the sidewalks will remain open.

However, Canova is already thinking about the other routes she may want to take if traffic backs up.

"To get to my job and everything, I'd have to go an extra 15 to 20 minutes out of my way either way to get to where I need to go," Canova said.

Once actual work gets underway, crews will give the bridge a new paint job, repair the concrete barrier and sidewalk, replace the protective fencing and lighting, and more, through late 2028.

It is construction work that Canova knows is important, as the bridge has worn over time. She just wishes these current traffic shifts and any future changes would take place in the evenings.

"I want them to work on it, but it's just going to be a pain," Canova said.

As you drive on the bridge, PennDOT urges you to go slowly and use caution through the work zone.