The closure of the Tarentum Bridge has made things difficult for ambulances trying to get patients from the New Kensington side of the bridge to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison.
Emergency traffic has had to follow detours like all other vehicles, said Addie Birch, emergency medical services director with the New Kensington Bureau of Fire-Ambulance.
The New Kensington Bridge, part of the posted detour route, has seen heavy traffic.
“You can have a 40-minute or greater delay sitting in traffic trying to go from New Kensington to Allegheny Valley,” Birch said. “You can have lights and sirens, but if there’s already two lanes of traffic on the Ninth Street Bridge, there’s not enough room for my ambulance to get through.”