SR 19 Reconstruction & Bridge Replacement

State Route 19 is a high‐volume, north‐south expressway that bisects southern Pittsburgh. The route carries an average daily traffic of 28,000 vehicles and is a much‐used connector to the Penn Lincoln Parkway (Parkway West). The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) initiated a project to reconstruct a one‐mile section of SR 19, just north of the interchange with the parkway; the project area also included a three‐span, 180‐foot‐long steel I‐beam bridge over Shaler Street. As the project’s lead engineer, Lochner provided design, incorporating the first use of self‐propelled modular bridge transporters (SPMTs) on a PennDOT project.

Lochner’s design reconstructed the four‐lane roadway, including lowering the vertical profile in places to achieve clearance compliance, a median barrier, new guide rail, and an improved drainage system. For the Shaler Street crossing, Lochner designed a two‐span, 140‐foot‐long steel beam replacement structure.

A major goal of the project was to minimize traffic disruption during construction through this high‐volume area, which is the primary route from Pittsburgh’s west end to the Pittsburgh International Airport. Lochner developed detailed construction phasing and maintenance‐of‐traffic plans to keep as many travel lanes open as possible throughout the construction period. Lochner also used accelerated bridge construction techniques to reduce the construction time and therefore cost. In addition, PennDOT allocated federal funding for Lochner to examine the feasibility of using SPMT bridge construction techniques for the Shaler Street bridge to substantially reduce the traffic impacts caused by bridge construction.