PennDOT officials didn't know Monday when Pittsburgh Street would reopen to traffic in Springdale.
The road has been closed near the borough line with Cheswick since Friday, when the crane arm of a truck hauling bricks hit a bridge over the road, bending and puncturing an I-beam.
With no immediate way around the closure outside the NRG Energy power plant, drivers are contending with a roughly 10-mile-long posted detour using Route 28.
“It's taking us longer to do deliveries to Cheswick,” said Matt Pierce, an employee at La Nova Pizzeria on Pittsburgh Street in Springdale. “It's right there, but we have to go up and around.”
Patients from Cheswick coming to Frazetta Family Chiropractic in Springdale were canceling appointments or needing directions to get around the closure, said Barbara Smith, a chiropractic assistant.
“Some people didn't even know” the road was closed, she said.
Smith and others said the closure was making for a much quieter town.
Normally, “there's a lot of traffic on this road,” Smith said. “I'm not sure where the big trucks are going, but they're not here.”
The bridge belongs to NRG and supports pipes that carry waste ash across the road.
NRG spokesman Dave Gaier said an engineering inspection determined the bridge is structurally sound and there was no damage to the pipes.
However, PennDOT has asked the company to “shore up” the bridge.
PennDOT officials are concerned the bridge could collapse if it were hit again, spokeswoman Juliann Sheldon said.
Sheldon said PennDOT and NRG were working together to develop a plan to repair the bridge and reopen the street.
“We are still in the process of reviewing necessary repairs,” Sheldon said. “Until those necessary repairs are made, Pittsburgh Street will remain closed.”
Sheldon said the agency hopes to have a timetable on the repairs “in the next day or so.”
“As of right now, we can't determine when the road will be reopened,” she said. “We know what a lifeline that is to the community. We're working to move things along as fast as possible.”
The truck that hit the bridge belongs to R.I. Lampus, a stone, block and brick company in Springdale.
A representative of the company did not return a call for comment Monday.
The road closure and detour factored into the Allegheny Valley School District canceling classes Monday, Superintendent Cheryl Griffith said. However, the decision had more to do with icy road conditions on the detour route and predictions for deteriorating conditions.
“It just seemed wise to close school and make it up later on this month,” Griffith said. “We always err on the side of safety for our students. The makeup days are there for a purpose.”
The district's students will make up the missed day on Feb. 16, Griffith said.
The detour alone would not have been enough reason to close school, Griffith said. Rerouting buses added 10-to-15 minutes to students' rides home Friday.
“They made it home within reason,” Griffith said.
While the closure wasn't affecting business at Tantigua, a tanning salon in Springdale, it was getting to and from work a chore for its manager, Meghan Jones, who lives in Oakmont.
“I don't really want to get on (Route) 28 to get home,” she said. “I'd prefer it back to normal.”
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-226-4701 or brittmeyer@tribweb.com.
