THE CHARLES ANDERSON MEMORIAL BRIDGE ON THE OAKLAND END | PHOTO BY VIRGINIA LINN

[Updated Oct. 19 with another bridge closing in the Oakland area by the City of Pittsburgh for safety reasons.]

Work is finally starting on rehabilitating the Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge, a major artery that typically carried about 20,000 vehicles a day on the Boulevard of the Allies over Junction Hollow between Oakland and Squirrel Hill. 

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s office has scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony for 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 21.

And unexpectedly on Saturday, Oct. 19, the city abruptly closed the Panther Hollow Bridge to traffic — the span that stretches from Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens to the Anderson Playground area in Schenley Park — “amid an abundance of caution,” according to a city notice. 

“Based on the recommendation of PennDOT [the state Department of Transportation] and the inspection consultant we will be closing the bridge as a public safety measure until further analysis can be completed…,” said city Chief Engineer Eric Setzler in a statement.  Since the city closed the Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge to motorists on Feb. 1, 2023, also for safety issues, the Panther Hollow Bridge had been an alternate traffic route connecting Oakland and Squirrel Hill.

Gainey told reporters on Monday, Oct. 21 that the safety rating on the Panther Hollow Bridge declined from fair to poor in a recent inspection and that an assessment of the deficiencies is still underway. It it not known when the bridge will reopen. It was built in 1896 and rehabbed most recently in 1999, according to Setzler.

On the Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge, that 780-foot-long span is the first major city bridge to be rehabilitated since Gainey ordered a review of the city’s 146 structures after the Jan. 28, 2022 collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge above Frick Park. 

The Anderson bridge will close Nov. 4 to all bicyclists and pedestrians, who have been able to use the bridge since its closing.

THE CHARLES ANDERSON MEMORIAL BRIDGE EXTENDS OVER JUNCTION HOLLOW | PHOTO BY VIRGINIA LINN

Construction on the 84-year-old Anderson bridge — coordinated with the Federal Highway Administration and state Department of Transportation — is slated to be finished in the fall of 2026, and the bridge reopened to traffic by Thanksgiving. 

“This project aims to modernize the Charles Anderson Bridge with an emphasis on safety for all users of the bridge,” according to a city report.

The complete $56 million rehabilitation will include a new deck and steel support system, repairs and strengthening of the historical truss, repairs to the concrete piers and abutments, restoration of the original ornamental railings and pylons and full repainting of the structure.

Under the latest plans, traffic configuration on the Anderson bridge would change. Sidewalks will be widened to more than 6 feet wide, a two-direction bike lane will be added and there will be two lanes of traffic heading into Squirrel Hill and one lane heading into Oakland from Schenley Park. Originally there were two lanes of traffic going in each direction.

According to an in-depth traffic analysis on anticipated traffic from 2025 to 2045, a single lane would meet the demands of inbound traffic volumes (coming from Squirrel Hill into Oakland) on the bridge. Peak traffic volumes on the Boulevard of the Allies and Panther Hollow Road are almost three times higher outbound (going into Squirrel Hill) during the afternoon rush hour than the inbound morning traffic. Reducing the bridge from four lanes to three would improve safety, according to traffic engineers.

Motorists should be warned that because the rehabilitation of the Anderson bridge won’t be completed until fall 2026, its closing will overlap with a nearly monthlong closing in July 2026 of the full Parkway East. Just east of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel (on the Monroeville side), the Commercial Street Bridge, which carries traffic over Frick Park near the former Irish Centre, will be imploded and then a new bridge, which would have been built beside it, would slip in its place. With two main arteries between Oakland and the Eastern neighborhoods and suburbs out of commission at the same time, traffic flow will be a challenge.

So who exactly was Charles Anderson? A plumber by trade, he served 19 years on Pittsburgh City Council between 1920 until his death at age 62 in December 1939. His obituary in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph described him as a “rugged, two-fisted politician” and one of the “most colorful figures in Pittsburgh.” A longtime member of the plumbers union, he was interested in politics, labor and civics affairs. 

He was elected to five terms on City Council — the first four he ran as a Republican and the last as a Democrat. The obituary said “he took an active lead to make sure city budgets never grew too excessive.”