How to Bike Around the Roberto Clemente (6th St.) Bridge Closure and joyously use bike infrastructure the whole time

Roberto Clemente (6th St.) Bridge to Close for Nearly Two Years

The 6th St Bridge’s bike lanes get a lot of use

Beginning Monday, February 14th, 2022, The Roberto Clemente Bridge will close to all vehicular, walking, and bicycle traffic due to a $34.4 million dollar rehabilitation project. The closure is slated to last until December 2023. 

Even though the iconic and popular bridge (with bike lanes designed in honor of #21 himself) will be unavailable to cyclists and pedestrians, there is a very bike-friendly detour that will help you avoid interactions with motor vehicles. Allegheny County “officially” recommends that bicyclists detour on the 7th St (Andy Warhol) Bridge. However, unlike the 6th St Bridge, there are no bike lanes, so if you don’t feel comfortable riding with traffic, follow the below route.

Route to detour around the bridge closure from Downtown to The North Shore

  • Take the Penn Ave. bike lanes west towards Point State Park
  • Merge onto the Liberty Ave. bike lanes heading towards Point State Park
  • Follow the path underneath the overpass
  • Make a right onto the Ft. Duquesne Bridge pedestrian walkway (Be careful to make a right onto the ramp at the end of the walkway and not the stairs)
  • Make a U-Turn after exiting the bridge switchbacks, then make a right towards the Korean War Veterans Memorial down to the river trail
  • Make a left onto the river trail and then make a left on Allegheny Landing just past the 6th St. Bridge. 
  • You are now at Federal St. 

To go back towards downtown simply reverse the route.  

Posted by Ted King-Smith

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