City Bridges

• For any immediate, urgent emergencies, please first call 9-1-1. 
• For all other concerns, please contact us through calling 3-1-1 or submitting a request online (If submitting online, select “Bridge Maintenance” as the Request Type.) DOMI reviews all submitted requests concerning the public right-of-way and its associated infrastructure.

• DOMI uses a wide range of criteria when evaluating and prioritizing bridge improvements. Our first goal is always maintaining public safety, and we respond to urgent needs as identified by our personnel or inspections.
• Large scale rehabilitation or replacement projects are judged by factors including estimated remaining life, traffic volumes, truck and emergency vehicle usage, potential detour lengths, proximity to public services, available funding eligibility, and others. 
• Besides the City Bridges Dashboard, you can also check the DOMI Project Map to see ongoing projects from across the department and the City’s EngagePGH page to keep up with updates and provide input on upcoming projects.

• Bridge funding comes from a variety of places. Most large projects are eligible for and receive a majority of their total cost from federal, state, private, or other investments routed through Transportation Improvement Programs (TIP), coordinated by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC). Others receive the backing of unique grants, such as the American Rescue Plan (ARP), passed federally in 2021. Local, or city, contributions cover most routine maintenance and other priorities that don’t match with outside sources. 
• DOMI funding, along with all other city departments, is split between operating, or day-to-day, and capital, or major projects, budgets. It is authorized annually following input from the City’s Office of Management and Budget, the Mayor, community outreach, and final approval from the City Council. You can learn more about the City’s budget process and how to weigh in here at EngagePGH.

• Outside of emergency work, typical federally-funded projects can take upwards of five years to progress from initial project planning through engineering. The process must pass through state and federal oversight and follow their respective design and project development requirements. 
• Bridge projects involve frequent coordination with a varied set of stakeholders, including regional, state, and federal partners, utility companies, adjacent residents and property owners, and other city services. 
• DOMI is currently managing over a dozen major rehabilitation projects in phases ranging from preliminary engineering to construction, while also with keeping up with small repairs and maintenance of many more. This requires careful prioritization to best manage resources and staff capacity, along with that of our consultants and contractors. Shortening project timelines would limit the number of concurrent projects that we could process simultaneously.
• Many of our city bridges are recognized as individually eligible or are listed as contributing resources in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Rehabilitation of these structures requires more robust analysis in order to maintain their historic character. While we are fortunate to have these distinguished assets connecting us to our past, they were often designed for lighter vehicles or with different principles than newer bridges are today. This adds some complexity as we work to update and modernize our inventory to better serve the public.

• In January 2022, the Fern Hollow Bridge carrying Forbes Avenue over Frick Park experienced structural failure and fell into the valley below. You can read about the National Transportation Safety Board’s findings into the probable causes, along with their safety recommendations to the City of Pittsburgh and other stakeholders here: 
  • https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Pages/HWY22MH003.aspx
• In response, the City of Pittsburgh later that year released the comprehensive Bridge Asset Management Report, the largest analysis of our bridge inventory in our city’s history. City staff, outside experts, and consulting engineering firms reviewed all bridge inspection reports, conducted new on-site inspections, developed new priority repairs, revised procurement and contract policies, and connected with new funding sources.
• The City has since kicked off a new Bridge Asset Management Program. We have increased our bridge personnel and created a new, dedicated Bridge Maintenance Division. In 2023, we were proud to address more bridge maintenance than we had during the previous three years combined. We’re continuing to reduce the number of poorly rated bridges through ongoing and planned repairs and rehabilitations.
• PennDOT, in partnership with DOMI, designed and constructed the new Fern Hollow Bridge with federal funds made available by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The bridge fully opened to traffic in 2023; read more about the project here: 
  • https://www.penndot.pa.gov/RegionalOffices/district-11/ConstructionsProjectsAndRoadwork/AlleghenyCountyConstruction/Pages/FernHollowBridgeProject.aspx
• Read more about all of these changes and see the full reports here: Bridge Asset Management Program

• Routine bridge inspections help to maintain safe travel, prevent structural failures, and enable better asset management planning and stewardship of public investments. Inspection requirements and format are set by the National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS), published by the Federal Highway Administration and last updated in 2022. All bridge inspectors are certified by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) by completing a Bridge Safety Inspector Training and Certification program and biennial training courses.
• Inspectors make visual and physical observations of all components of a bridge, including the deck, superstructure, substructure, channel, signage, and approaches. Inspections highlight deterioration and note any changes over time, comparing the current state to the original as-built condition. 
• After making evaluations, inspectors publish an inspection report that assigns component ratings and recommends repairs. Structural engineers then use these reports to program required maintenance, calculate weight limits as needed, and plan future projects.
• Every city vehicle bridge with spanning 20 feet or greater is inspected at least every two years. City pedestrian bridges and vehicle bridges spanning 8 to 20 feet are inspected at least every five years. Bridges with specific needs are inspected more frequently, typically at either six-month or annual intervals.
• Read more about the NBIS and bridge inspections: 
  • https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/inspection/

• DOMI is always monitoring the conditions of city bridges. Common routine tasks include cleaning and washing bridges and drainage systems, replacing expansion joints and seals, patching areas of concrete deterioration, replacing barriers and curbs, clearing debris, painting, and resurfacing roadways. Proactive maintenance and upkeep protects the public’s investment by reducing the need for more expensive improvements as a bridge’s condition worsens.
• Larger-scale projects include bridge preservation, rehabilitation, and replacement. Preservation aims to extend a bridge’s useful life by preventing or reducing deterioration. Rehabilitations restore a select set of components to address specific issues. Full structural replacement is reserved for when other repairs are impractical or infeasible.

• Every bridge inspection assigns condition ratings for each of the deck, superstructure, substructure, and culvert components. As defined by the National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS), these ratings scale from nine to zero:
• 9 – Excellent 
• 8 – Very Good 
• 7 – Good 
• 6 – Satisfactory 
• 5 – Fair 
• 4 – Poor 
• 3 – Serious 
• 2 – Critical 
• 1 – Imminent Failure 
• 0 – Failed 

• The lowest component condition rating determines the overall rating classification for a bridge: 
  • 9 to 7 – Good Condition 
  • 6 to 5 – Fair Condition 
  • 4 or Lower – Poor Condition 

• While condition ratings are an important summary, they can sometimes be limited in describing an individual bridge’s status. The full picture of a bridge’s health also depends on other factors such as structure type, size, material composition, usage, and location. Two bridges with the same rating may require very different levels or types of maintenance to remain in service.
• Poorly rated bridges are not immediately unsafe to travel on or at risk of failure. The rating signifies that the structural components have started to lose strength due to defects, and that action is needed to prevent further deterioration. This can often be remedied by repairs, restrictions, or by redundancies in the design of the structure. Engineers determine if a bridge is safe to remain open after conducting a load rating analysis and assessing the bridge’s weight limit. If the weight limit is below the safe load for vehicles and repairs are not possible or practical, the bridge will be closed. Safety is DOMI’s highest priority, and caution is taken to ensure that no one is ever at risk.

• A weight limit is a legally enforceable posting, indicated by signage, restricting the maximum vehicle load, or weight, allowed on a road or bridge. This is determined by a load rating analysis, taking into account the bridge’s structural design, various vehicle configurations, any reductions in the bridge’s capacity due to damage or deterioration, and uncertainty. 
• It is the responsibility of the bridge owner to post and update weight limits as needed. After every bridge inspection, engineers determine if an updated load rating analysis is necessary based on observed changes since the previous inspection. 
• Vehicles weighing less than the posted limit can safely cross a bridge. Weight limits are put in place to protect the public and extend the service life of a bridge. If the weight limit is low enough to be a risk to public safety, the bridge will be closed to all traffic or removed. 
• Weight limits are related to, but not completely dependent on condition ratings. Older bridges were often originally designed for much lighter vehicle loads than are common and legal today. Some structures can be in fair or good condition but restricted to a lower weight limit if no modifications have been made.

The City of Pittsburgh does not own every bridge within the city limits. Many are owned by Allegheny County, Pittsburgh Regional Transit, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), or private entities such as railroads. Check the links to report safety or maintenance issues and for more information. 

• https://www.norfolksouthern.com/en/commitments/safety/report-a-concern 
• https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/working-at-csx/contact-us/
• https://callcenter.alleghenycounty.us/ 
• https://www.rideprt.org/contact/contact-us2/customer-service/ 
• https://customercare.penndot.gov/eCCC/eCCC.nsf/Index.xsp 

Check the City of Pittsburgh Bridge Dashboard to see more information about city-owned bridges. For other bridges, check out the Allegheny County Infrastructure Ownership Map.

• The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) maintains an interactive map noting the current conditions of every bridge in the state: 
  • https://gis.penndot.gov/paprojects/BridgeConditionsMap.aspx 
• Read more about PennDOT’s bridge maintenance and other programs: 
  • https://www.penndot.pa.gov/ProjectAndPrograms/Bridges/Pages/default.aspx 
• Read more about Allegheny County’s roads and bridges: 
  • https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Projects-and-Initiatives/Roads-and-Bridges 
• See the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission’s website to learn about the Metropolitan Planning Organization that plans and directs state and federal transportation funds for our region: https://www.spcregion.org/
• Learn about the history of some of Pittsburgh’s most iconic bridges at the Heinz History Center’s Pittsburgh: A Tradition of Innovation exhibit: 
  • https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/blog/western-pennsylvania-history-pittsburgh-the-city-of-bridges/