PennDOT now inspecting several piers after finding crack in pier supporting North Side HOV lanes
What began as a large crack in a pier supporting the HOV lanes on the North Side has become a much bigger issue.
First, there was the emergency closure of the HOV lane across the Veterans Bridge, then later, lanes were diverted on the 579 main line on the bridge.
It's also far from over.
Let's make it clear: PennDOT said that the Veterans Bridge, which carries around 65,000 vehicles per day, is safe, but the situation is serious.
When you stand underneath the Veterans Bridge and see the newly installed steel supports, it makes a normal person wonder if it's safe.
"Those are what we call temporary support columns or shoring towers," explained Jason Zang, PennDOT District 11 Executive. "It is safe; if it weren't, we would have closed the interstate down. We don't mess around with bridge safety."
After the initial HOV pier crack was discovered in February and repairs began, PennDOT District 11's Zang said they started looking at all the other 1980s "vintage" North Side piers.
"There are three piers that we are supporting immediately, but when you start looking at the analysis, and you start looking at the design, that I said was from back in the late-70s, the problem could be bigger than just the three areas that we have columns, so we're working through it," Zang said.
On the bridge itself, traffic has been shifted, and according to Zang, out of an abundance of caution, they have pushed the traffic away from where the deteriorated columns are. The bridge has to be able to handle a certain weight or load, and Zang said that, between natural deterioration and the 70s design standards, some problems have arisen.
"We're having some issues getting the loads that we need them to carry to today's standards," he said.
That's where the supports come in. They allow PennDOT to jack the superstructure and then perform the repairs needed.
Replacing the piers might come in a few years, but for now, they're working through what repairs need to be made to bridge the gap. While they do that, the lane shifts on the bridge will remain in place.
"They could be there this entire construction season," Zang said, "depending on the extent of the final repair to these."
Zang said this is an example of the process working, saying, "We found a problem and we're addressing it."
As for reopening the HOV lane across the bridge to Bedford Avenue, Zang is hopeful that it could happen by the end of May, but the overall assessment of more than 30 piers is ongoing, and there's no way to know what they may find.
