Construction could begin by late April on a replacement for Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge, which崩溃了in the early morning hours of Jan. 28.

根据宾夕法尼亚州运输部（Penndot）的说法，Swank Construction and HDR的设计建造团队正在制定针对三跨跨度连续的复合材料的混凝土I梁结构的计划，其整体基台位于相同的道路路线内，位于相同的道路上。弗里克公园（Frick Park），该市最大的市政公园。

PennDOT says considerations such as “material availability, cost, design concerns and delivery time” as well as potential supply-chain concerns led to the choice of replacement structure type. Until its collapse, which is still being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, the original 52-year-old 447-ft-long, three-span continuous steel bridge carried approximately 14,000 vehicles each day.

联邦公路管理局已授权为替代项目提供2530万美元的联邦资金，Penndot根据州和地方层面的灾难声明监督该项目。该机构使用紧急采购程序，使Swank/HDR团队在崩溃之日进行选择，并使用“创新技术”来加速设计过程，包括同时开发基础，下层结构，超结构，公用事业，公用事业，环境，环境，环境环境和审美方面。

Swank/HDR is already performing surveys, geotechnical investigations and environmental assessments, along with handling the continued demolition and cleanup of the old bridge, PennDOT says.

A full listing of Swank Construction’s subcontracting team for the project has not been announced, but PennDOT said that the contractor is “actively engaging suppliers to ensure proposed materials will be available in a timely manner,” which will likely influence the project’s final cost and construction schedule. The agency predicts that the expedited process will accelerate delivery of a replacement bridge by two to three years.

Current plans for the new structure call for four 10-ft-wide travel lanes, shoulders, sidewalk and a shared-use path. The project team is working with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation to evaluate potential aesthetic elements such as treatments to the concrete pier columns and bridge barriers, painting of the beams, a stream restoration plan, ornamental bridge lighting and a site restoration plan with tree plantings to restore areas damaged by the collapse.