(News)

The city has apparently dodged a financial bullet --- and rescued Glassport at the same time.

City Council and Allegheny County officials have agreed on a plan that would forgive $141,576 that McKeesport taxpayers were expected to contribute to the reconstruction of the W.D. Mansfield Bridge.

McKeesport must accept responsibility for snow removal and pothole repairs on the approach ramps, but as for footing part of the bill for the construction, "we're out of the woods," says Dennis Pittman, city administrator, "and Glassport gets the same deal."

The 1,931-foot bridge over the Monongahela River is one of 6,000 statewide rated structurally deficient by inspectors. A long-delayed rehabilitation project is now scheduled for 2012, according to bid documents released by Mark Patrick Flaherty, Allegheny County controller.

. . .

Although the bridge is owned by Allegheny County, two obscure 1940s rulings by the state Public Utility Commission held the city and Glassport liable for a share the cost of reconstructing the ramps at the south end. Glassport's share was calculated approximately $120,000.

For more than a year, city officials have argued that the rulings --- which concerned long-forgotten railroad crossings --- are no longer enforceable, and that the money spent last year to repave West Fifth Avenue between the bridge and the Marathon gasoline station should count toward its share of the work.

The county initially balked, in part because the West Fifth project was funded by the state. But on Aug. 15, county officials agreed to pay for the bridge ramp reconstruction in both McKeesport and Glassport.

In exchange, however, McKeesport is required to accept future "financial, maintenance and ownership" responsibilities for those portions of West Fifth Avenue that connect or pass under the bridge, and which are located within the city limits.

. . .

Reconstruction of the Mansfield Bridge was originally slated to begin in 2009, but the schedule was pushed back to allow the county to repair other bridges that cross the Monongahela, including the Rankin Bridge.

Published estimates for the repairs have been in the $37 million to $38 million range. The work is scheduled to include painting, repaving and structural repairs.

According to the bidding documents, proposals are due by Sept. 29, the work is expected to begin sometime after January 2012, and the project must be complete by October 2014.