Dump truck collides with railway bridge in Beechview

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Crews removed a railway bridge from Crane Avenue by Route 51 in Pittsburgh's Beechview neighborhood on Friday night after a dump truck struck it, causing the trestle to go off its mooring.

The Pittsburgh mayor's office said a private dump truck hit the bridge either in the morning or overnight. They said it did not involve a city-owned vehicle.

Technically there were two train bridges in that spot. Sources told KDKA-TV that the truck only struck one and the tracks on it were no longer active.

According to the city, it's owned and operated by Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway. Sources said crews were alerted to the issue by a guy doing a safety check on the tracks overnight.

Crews closed off Crane Avenue by Route 51 in the morning and kept it shut down for most of the day. Workers secured the area and then spent hours on the scene setting up two cranes. Duquesne Light came out to turn the power off so crews could put the cranes up safely.

Eventually, workers hooked up the trestle, lifted it and removed it just after 6 p.m.

Driver Gina Huss couldn't believe it.

"It feels like I'm in a movie. You can't make this stuff up," Huss said.

She's one of the countless people who have been traveling Crane since the start of the month when PennDOT closed the section of Route 51 between Crane and Woodruff to demolish the bridge by Woodruff at the bottom of Mount Washington. This construction has created some headaches for drivers on Crane by Banksville Road.

"It's just so inconveniencing, you already have that you can't get through 51 and we live in Duquesne Heights, so it makes it nearly impossible to get anywhere," Huss said.

It will take another several hours for crews to disassemble the cranes, but Crane Avenue is expected to reopen in the next few hours.

KDKA-TV reached out to Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway for comment, but have not heard back at this time.