AMBRIDGE (KDKA) — A busy bridge in Beaver County is closing next month.

Most of the traffic will be detoured to the Sewickley Bridge as PennDOT begins a project on the Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge in March.

The bridge will stay closed for eight months. For 85 years, it’s been the main link between Ambridge and Aliquippa. About 12,000 cars use the bridge daily.

“That’s going to be an inconvenience that’s for sure, but I guess it’s gotta be done before it falls into the river,” Rory McCoy, of Ambridge, said.

Starting March 3, the two-lane bridge will undergo a $16 million rehabilitation.

“The first phase of work during this closure will conduct a lot of substructure repairs and other repairs to the main structure itself across the river,” Jim Struzzi, a PennDOT spokesman, said.

During the closure, drivers can cross the former toll bridge in East Rochester to Monaca, but the Sewickley Bridge will be the main detour. Officials estimate 22,000 drivers use that bridge every day and it’s about to see more traffic.

“We’ll coordinate with PennDOT and try to set up some traffic control, but it is going to create a lot of problems,” Sewickley Police Chief Jim Ersher said.

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