FERN HOLLOW BRIDGE ON FORBES AVENUE OVER FRICK PARK IS SLATED TO CLOSE FOR ONE MONTH ON MONDAY FOR THE FINAL CONSTRUCTION PHASE. TWO LANES OF THE SPAN THAT HAD COLLAPSED IN JANUARY 2022 WERE REOPENED TO TRAFFIC IN DECEMBER. | PHOTO BY DENISE BONURA

Fern Hollow Bridge travelers over Frick Park in Pittsburgh’s East End will be forced to take another route for the next month as final construction is completed on the new Forbes Avenue structure.

On Jan. 28, 2022, the 447-foot-long bridge that carries Forbes Avenue over Fern Hollow Creek gave way just after 6:30 a.m., sending a Port Authority bus and several vehicles into the ravine below. Ten people suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the collapse, which occurred hours before President Joe Biden was to speak in Pittsburgh about infrastructure issues.

Two lanes of the bridge between Regent Square and Squirrel Hill were reopened to traffic in December 2022. All four lanes will be opened once the work is complete.

The final phase of construction is expected to begin Monday, June 12, and is slated for completion on July 7, according to information released Thursday by the City of Pittsburgh Department of Mobility and Infrastructure and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

A portion of Forbes Avenue from South Dallas Avenue to South Braddock Avenue will be closed to traffic as crews with Swank Construction Co. completes final milling, paving and pavement marks and the installation of a polyester polymer concrete overlay on the bridge deck, as well as artistic enhancements to the bridge sidewalk and barrier.

The detour will follow South Dallas Avenue to Penn Avenue and back to South Braddock Avenue. 

The Department of Mobility and Infrastructure said in a press release that its staff will also complete planned traffic pattern and safety improvement work along the corridor, including:

• The addition of a stop sign at Beechwood Boulevard and Beacon Street to make the crossing an all-way stop
• The installation of jersey barriers along Forbes Avenue to protect a new two-way cycle track
• A reduced speed limit on Forbes from South Dallas Avenue to Braddock Avenue
• A pedestrian walkway on North Beechwood Boulevard that connects to an existing sidewalk
• The addition of a speed table — a mid-block traffic calming device — on Beechwood Boulevard in an area of heavy bike and pedestrian traffic

Tranquil Trail, which runs under the bridge in Frick Park, will also reopen once the work is finished. A bike lane on Forbes Avenue will be complete and the north sidewalk opened.

The bridge may close again in the fall for crews to install pedestrian crossing signals on the west side of the span. The city did not indicate how long the fall closure would be.

See the traffic project design and intersection improvements here.