Damage to the concrete wall protecting the walking path on Milroy Street Bridge, connecting Perry South to Northview Heights. (Photo by Clare Sheedy/PublicSource)
The mayor will soon hire a consultant to create a comprehensive plan for the city’s bridges. But thin resources at the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure could make it hard to implement.
by Charlie Wolfson, PublicSource
When a city councilor asked Kim Lucas, the new director of Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure [DOMI] what her department needs to succeed, she said the department has “a real core capacity issue.”
“We have three people that are responsible for over 800 sets of public steps, 150 city-owned bridges, 400-plus retaining walls and the landslide mitigation efforts and flooding,” Lucas said.
That thin staffing at DOMI could get in the way of Mayor Ed Gainey’s plans to overhaul how Pittsburgh manages its many bridges. Bridge maintenance jumped to the top of the new mayor’s to-do list after the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse in January and the public scrutiny that followed.
Gainey announced May 5 that the city will solicit bids for a comprehensive bridge management plan, which he said will mean that the city “will have someone leading a team that will get up every day and think about the safety and integrity of our bridges.”
He said he will task the new coordinator with providing a status report on the condition of all city-owned bridges by October.
This move comes as DOMI, which is responsible for bridges, roads, steps and much more in the city, gets a new permanent director in Lucas. During her confirmation hearing before council in May, she was direct in saying the department is short on people, funding and even software. On top of that, an independent report conducted in late 2021 warned that morale issues and overwork could hamper DOMI.
Short staffing
Lucas clarified in an interview with PublicSource that there are more than three employees in the structures division, but there are three people “responsible for major capital projects and the asset management work of the department.”
Gainey spokesperson Maria Montaño said in an email that the department’s staffing and Lucas’ calls for more capacity are part of the reason for the new bridge management program, which will give the city “a clear picture” of what it needs to do for each bridge.