SPRINGDALE, Pa. (KDKA) — Pittsburgh Street is the main artery connecting Cheswick to Springdale, but some traffic woes are on the way as crews prepare to remove a 100-year-old trestle bridge.

“It was an original trestle when they brought coal cars down from the old coal mines on top of the hill that fed the old Colfax station down by the river, before the Cheswick power station. Since the 1970s, it’s been used for a pipe bridge for transport of ash and water from the site across Pittsburgh Street,” Miller said.

At a town hall meeting on Thursday night, people who live in Springdale Borough had the opportunity to get some answers about the demolition plan and how it will impact them.

The owner and police said starting Nov. 13, Pittsburgh Street will be closed for at least five nights between Duquesne Avenue and Washington Street. It’ll make going between Cheswick and Springdale a bit of a chore from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

“We have all the major intersections covered, we have road barricades at all the endpoints, and we will have police there to direct,” Springdale Borough Police Department Chief Derek Dayoub said. 

Sgt. Fred Hockenberry told KDKA-TV that police will block the intersections and sidewalks during the closures. He said the work is happening at night because Pittsburgh Street has major traffic during the day, including truck traffic.

“With this being a major artery that goes right along with (Route) 28, we do get a lot, especially we have a few businesses,” Sgt. Hockenberry said.

Springdale Borough police hosted the town hall so residents could ask questions about the process, concerns and detours.

“How far can traffic go?” one resident asked in the meeting.

“Is there going to be excessive noise through the area that would cause issues for the residents?” another neighbor asked.

“When they brought down the smokestacks, there was a danger zone. Are there any danger zones dropping this trestle?” a community member said.

Sam Miller with Charah Solutions, which manages the property, told community members there will be no danger zone, but people should expect some construction noise.

“We’re planning on closing the road, putting protection down on the road, and then cutting up the bridge in pieces and taking it down piece by piece,” Miller said.

“We’re going to do it safely and we’re going to try to do it as efficiently as possible to minimize the effects to the community,” he added.

Sgt. Hockenberry said they have a plan to make sure there’s no impact on emergency response times.

“We did coordinate with Charah Solutions into using the backside of the plant for emergency vehicles to be able to go to and from the location if need be for medial, fire or police emergency,” Sgt. Hockenberry said.

The trestle removal project is part of the demolition process at the old power station. Miller said Charah Solutions hopes to sell after cleaning up the property to industrial standards.

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — The odds were against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Commanders making the playoffs before the season started, for various reasons on either side.

They meet up just past the midway point in a showdown of first-place teams that have exceeded expectations and even added at the trade deadline to improve their odds. The Steelers (6-2) acquired receiver Mike Williams and edge rusher Preston Smith to fill areas of need, the Commanders (7-2) got cornerback Marshon Lattimore, and their game Sunday at Washington is a chance to see how they stack up against each other.

“It’s a tough matchup and another good test for us,” Commanders receiver Noah Brown said. “We’re excited about it.”

While Lattimore’s status is murky because of a hamstring injury, Williams and Smith could play — and the Steelers are plenty excited about what they bring to a group that has already set a high standard for what a successful season looks like.

“We know we have to win playoff games,” tight end Pat Freiermuth said. “That was our goal coming into this year, so any time the front office can add pieces to that, if they can help us win, obviously it’s cool. But we knew from the start we were all in to go win this thing this year.”

Pittsburgh hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016 but has reached the postseason in two of the past three years and 11 times under coach Mike Tomlin. Washington has just one appearance since 2016 and hasn’t won a playoff game since 2005.

This looked like a rebuilding season around rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Instead, Daniels has been one of the NFL’s best players to leap into the MVP conversation, general manager Adam Peters’ roster overhaul has paid immediate dividends, and this is Washington’s best nine-game start since 1996. Six-time All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner, one of a bevy of new additions in free agency, isn’t sure if playing the Steelers is a measuring stick but can’t wait to get on the field and find out.

“I think it’s more fun,” said Wagner, who played with Pittsburgh QB Russell Wilson for a decade with Seattle. “The Steelers is a really respected organization, and so being able to play against somebody like that and being able to play against a coach like Mike Tomlin and things of that nature, it’s more so like, ‘OK, this game’s going to be fun.’”

The Commanders are 3-point favorites on BetMGM Sportsbook.

No ordinary rookie

The Steelers have dominated rookie quarterbacks through the years, including a 25-6 mark under Tomlin. That list includes an easy victory over Robert Griffin III and Washington in 2012, as well as a win against Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos in Week 2.

Enter the electric Daniels, who has Tomlin’s full attention.

The NFL’s longest-tenured coach doesn’t think Daniels is a typical first-year player, pointing to Daniels’ ability to extend plays and make productive decisions at the end of them.

“He’s been able to extract the good from those moments while minimizing the bad,” Tomlin said. “I just think that speaks to his savvy and experience. … This guy has been a franchise quarterback at two different universities.”

Respect for Russ

Daniels is several games into his pro career — nine, officially, but he missed the vast majority of one with a rib injury. Wilson is in his 13th season, now with his third team, and Daniels admires the almost-36-year-old vet’s playmaking abilities.

“I’ve been seeing Russ pretty much his whole career,” said Daniels, who continues practicing and playing through sore ribs but hasn’t slowed down. “He throws a really good deep ball, very accurate. Overall, just his leadership and how he treats his people on and off the field, that’s something that stands out.”

Commanders rookie defensive tackle Johnny Newton, who grew up a Seahawks fan rooting for Wilson, called him smart and savvy.

“He has a feel of everything,” Newton said.

Running on empty

Pittsburgh’s vaunted run defense took a hit against the New York Giants during a 28-16 victory on Oct. 28, allowing a season-high 157 yards on the ground in a performance that left veteran defensive tackle Cam Heyward fuming.

The Steelers, coming off their bye, need to make sure the shaky play at the line of scrimmage was an anomaly with their second-half schedule filled with teams that like to run the ball, including Washington, Baltimore (twice) and Philadelphia.

Tomlin seems less concerned about the opponents than he does his defense returning to the form it showed earlier in the season.

“We don’t care about the Joneses, man,” Tomlin said. “Our story is our story. We got an agenda and we’re trying to live it, and when we don’t meet it, we’re thumb-pointers. We’re the guys that look in the mirror.”

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AP Sports Writer Will Graves in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.

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