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Renderings released for new Fern Hollow Bridge; construction expected to start in April

PITTSBURGH — We’re getting an idea of what the new Fern Hollow Bridge could look like as design and construction efforts move forward.

>>PHOTOS: First renderings of new Fern Hollow Bridge

On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and city of Pittsburgh officials, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, outlined progress on reconstruction of the bridge, which collapsed on Jan. 28. Construction of the new bridge is expected to begin in late April.

PennDOT has selected the team of HDR and Swank Construction to design and construct the new bridge, which will remain along the same roadway alignment and width. Officials said that to help expedite the replacement, the bridge is anticipated to include four 10-foot-wide travel lanes, 2-foot-wide shoulders on both sides, a 5-foot-wide sidewalk, and a 10-foot 5-inch-wide shared use path on the southern side.

>>PREVIOUS STORY: NTSB releases preliminary report on the Fern Hollow Bridge Collapse in Pittsburgh

Emergency declarations at the time of the collapse from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey allowed the city to immediately turn the project over to PennDOT for management of the design and construction. The declarations also allowed the department to work with the Federal Highway Administration to begin work within seven days of the collapse.

“With the Fern Hollow Bridge seeing more than 14,000 cars daily, we knew it was critical to act quickly to reconstruct,” Wolf was quoted Tuesday in a news release.

>>PREVIOUS STORY: Target 11: Fern Hollow Bridge warning signs were there going back a decade

“We are extremely thankful for our partners at PennDOT,” a statement from Gainey said. “Because of their leadership we have been able to move efficiently to begin the process so we can safely restore this critical piece of our infrastructure to our city. We are encouraged by the progress being made and are looking forward to this next phase of the project to reconnect this critical roadway for our city.”

For more information about the Fern Hollow Bridge project, CLICK HERE.