The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is announcing the explosive demolition of the I-376 (Commercial Street Bridge) in Edgewood Borough and the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, will occur Wednesday, July 15 weather permitting.
The explosive demolition of the current I-376 bridge between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and the Edgewood/Swissvale (Exit 77) interchange is anticipated to occur between 1:00 PM and 9:00 PM Wednesday. As details develop, more information on the timing will be provided.
The explosive process will only occur after crews and emergency personnel have cleared the blast radius on the ground and in the air and have declared the zone safe for explosion.
Residents in the area may proceed as usual in and around their homes. However, please be advised of a loud sound during the explosion and anticipate additional dust afterwards.
The public can view the explosive demolition from a safe distance via the live feed camera displaying the Commercial Street Bridge on the Commercial Street Bridge webpage or the specialized 511PA webpage at https://www.511pa.com/map/page/CommercialStBridge. The camera will run live through the closure of the bridge.
The Commercial Street Bridge replacement project will utilize Accelerated Bridge Construction Techniques to laterally slide the new bridge onto the existing alignment of I-376 (Parkway East), which will be one of the largest lateral slide projects performed in Pennsylvania. The $95 million project, located between the Edgewood/Swissvale (Exit 77) interchange and Squirrel Hill Tunnel in Edgewood and Swissvale boroughs, and the City of Pittsburgh began in June of 2024 with the reconstruction of the westbound I-376 off-ramp to Forest Hills/Wilkinsburg (Exit 78B). The overall project is anticipated to conclude in the summer of 2027.
To help keep travelers informed as work progresses, PennDOT has created an email distribution list for Parkway East traffic advisories and construction updates. Enroll by clicking on the Parkway East online sign-up form link and entering your email address.
For questions about the project and detours, please email the project team at CommStBridgeProject@pa.gov.
Updates can also be found on the Commercial Street Bridge webpage, by following PennDOT’s regional X page @511PAPittsburgh or joining the Greater Pittsburgh Area PennDOT Facebook group.
Travelers can check conditions on major roads by visiting www.511PA.com or visit the Commercial Street Bridge Replacement project’s specialized webpage for real-time detour times. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,200 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional X alerts.
Find PennDOT’s planned and active construction projects at www.pa.gov/DOTprojects. Subscribe to PennDOT news and find transportation results in Allegheny, Beaver, and Lawrence counties at www.pa.gov/DOTdistrict11.
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