Key takeaways:
- Covers the 129 municipalities outside the city, from Clairton and McKeesport to the North Hills and the airport corridor.
- Permit paths differ: some municipalities enforce the UCC themselves, others rely on third-party agencies.
- Plumbing work needs Allegheny County Health Department plan approval before it starts.
- DBE-certified through the PA UCP.
Scanning Across Allegheny County Outside the City
Allegheny County has 130 municipalities, more than any other county in Pennsylvania. Set Pittsburgh aside and there are still three cities (Clairton, Duquesne and McKeesport), 86 boroughs and 40 townships spread over roughly 730 square miles. On a renovation, the municipal line often decides who reviews your drawings.
The terrain matters too. More than a third of the county is forested, and most of that woodland sits on the steep hillsides of its stream and river valleys. Buildings on those slopes tend to have stepped foundations, retaining walls and additions that never made it onto paper. A 3D laser scan records grade, structure and those additions together, so the design team starts from what was built instead of an old plan set.
This page covers the county outside city limits. For Downtown, Oakland and the city's neighborhoods, including PLI permitting and Historic Review Commission work, see our Pittsburgh scanning page.
Homestead Grays Bridge, Monongahela River
Mon Valley Mills and Industrial Plants
U.S. Steel's Mon Valley Works runs along the Monongahela in three parts: the Clairton Plant, which the company calls the largest coke manufacturing facility in the United States; the Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, where the steel is made; and the Irvin Plant in West Mifflin, which handles rolling and finishing. Together they carry 2.9 million net tons of annual raw steel capability. U.S. Steel also ranks 18th on the state's list of the county's 50 largest employers.
Big construction is coming to those sites. In June 2026 U.S. Steel committed more than $2 billion to a new hot-strip mill at Edgar Thomson, which will replace the 87-year-old strip mill at Irvin after a two-year build. A $100 million slag recycling facility started construction in February 2026. Work of that size brings in engineers, fabricators and contractors who need tie-in points, equipment footprints and steel elevations measured inside a plant that keeps running.
Inside a mill or coke plant, the scanner does the measuring that would otherwise put a person on a catwalk or close to hot equipment. Site safety rules decide where the crew can stand and when, and we plan setups around them before the first visit. Our industrial plant scanning page explains piping and structural deliverables, steel and heavy industry scanning in Western PA covers mill-specific scopes, and job site scanning safety describes how we plan access.
Carrie Furnace, the Pump House and Steel-Era Landmarks
The Carrie Blast Furnaces in Rankin and Swissvale are a National Historic Landmark inside the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area. The heritage area spans eight counties, and the National Park Service notes that this region dominated American steel production from 1875 to 1980. In Munhall, the Pump House at 880 East Waterfront Drive was built by Carnegie Steel in 1892, the same year it became the site of the Battle of Homestead.
Structures like these combine riveted steel, brick and heavy machinery foundations that no standard CAD template fits. Scanning records them as they stand, which gives preservation planners, exhibit designers and structural engineers one measured source for elevations, sections and condition notes. Our page on historic preservation scanning shows how those drawings are put together.
New development is taking shape beside the furnaces. RIDC and the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County broke ground on the Carrie Furnace site in October 2022. The first 60,000 square foot tech/flex building was finished in spring 2024, a second is planned, and full build-out of the roughly 44 buildable acres calls for more than 500,000 square feet. New buildings on former mill ground benefit from a construction verification scan that checks slabs, steel and embeds against the model before finishes cover them.
Airport Corridor and Suburban Redevelopment
Pittsburgh International Airport opened its new landside terminal on November 18, 2025. The 811,000 square foot building, operated by the Allegheny County Airport Authority and designed by Gensler, Luis Vidal + Architects and HDR, puts check-in, security and baggage claim in one place and retires the 33-year-old terminal and its tram link. Concession build-outs and systems upgrades in a terminal that size all start from verified existing conditions.
In the eastern suburbs, Monroeville Mall faces a different kind of change. The mall opened in 1969 on 186 acres, and in October 2025 a Walmart affiliate applied for a $7.5 million state RACP grant to demolish it and redevelop the site for retail, dining and entertainment. Tenants must vacate by April 2027, and the plan still needs approval from the Monroeville Planning Commission and council.
A large retail site raises practical questions before demolition: what to record first, which utilities and structures stay, and how new buildings meet existing grades. A registered scan tied to site control answers them in one dataset. For smaller suburban work, see tenant fit-out scanning and our guide to due diligence scans for acquisitions.
Permits Change at Every Municipal Line
Pennsylvania's Act 45 of 1999 lets each municipality choose whether to administer and enforce the Uniform Construction Code. In Allegheny County that produces a mix of arrangements. Swissvale Borough, for example, issues the permit and then has CEA Code Enforcement Associates carry out commercial building inspections. Where a municipality has opted out entirely, residential work goes to a certified third-party agency and commercial approvals go to the PA Department of Labor & Industry.
Two county offices add their own layer. The Allegheny County Health Department runs the Plumbing Program under ACHD Article XV from 2121 Noblestown Road, Room 207 (412-578-8036), and commercial plumbing plans go through its plan review. Allegheny County Economic Development's Planning Division administers the 2012 county Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance for the 27 municipalities that lack their own, and it implements the county Stormwater Management Plan. The new Allegheny Forward comprehensive plan, being written in 2025 and 2026 to replace Allegheny Places, guides county investment but does not control local zoning.
Treat this as orientation, not legal advice; your architect and the local code official have the final word. What a scan supplies is the measured base each of these reviewers expects: floor plans, sections and site conditions drawn from the building itself. Our as-built documentation service produces those sheets in CAD, and the checklist in what a construction document package should include is worth reading before you submit.
Steep Slopes, Landslides and Old Mine Workings
Hillside building is part of life in this county, and so is ground movement. As of September 2025 the Department of Public Works was managing 49 ongoing landslide wall issues and had spent $19.3 million on landslide projects over the previous five years. WESA traces the risk to steep slopes, slippery red clay beds and weak rock layers. The county's Landslide Portal, launched in July 2019, maps reported slides, slide-susceptible areas and county and state roads.
Under the hills there is old coal. PA DEP estimated that about 230,000 homes in Allegheny County face subsidence risk from abandoned mines, and the county's resource plan notes that many mined areas have less than 100 feet of overburden. DEP's map of undermined areas in the county dates to February 2004, and the agency says it cannot verify the map's accuracy or completeness.
On a hillside property, the useful question is usually whether something is still moving. Scanning the retaining wall, foundation and grade today creates a dated record; scanning again after a wet season shows any change in position, measured instead of guessed. Our page on structural deformation monitoring explains the comparison, and we set its tolerance using USIBD Level of Accuracy bands.
County Bridges, Tunnels and Public Works
Allegheny County's Department of Public Works maintains 518 bridges and the Armstrong Tunnel. Larger bridges are inspected at least every two years and smaller ones every two to five years. Rehabilitation design needs the current geometry of bearings, abutments and deck, which original plans rarely show after decades of repairs.
A scan records the structure as it stands, including surface section loss and misalignment, and can be tied to the design survey. Our bridge and infrastructure scanning page lists typical deliverables, and state plane coordinates for laser scanning explains how scan data lines up with civil drawings. Borough buildings, firehouses and public works garages get the same treatment through municipal building scanning.
Neighboring counties we serve
Allegheny County Scanning FAQ
Who issues building permits for a project in my Allegheny County borough or township?
It depends on the municipality. Under Pennsylvania's Act 45, each one decides whether to administer and enforce the Uniform Construction Code itself. Where a municipality has opted out, residential permits and inspections go through a certified third-party agency and commercial approvals go to the PA Department of Labor & Industry. Your municipal office can confirm which arrangement applies to your address.
Do plumbing changes need separate approval in Allegheny County?
Yes. Plumbing falls under the Allegheny County Health Department's Plumbing Program, and the department must approve a plumbing plan before work begins, even for a water heater replacement. Commercial plans go through its Commercial Plan Review. Measured as-built floor plans from a scan give your plumber or engineer an accurate base for that submission.
Can you scan inside an operating mill or industrial plant in the Mon Valley?
Yes, within the plant's safety and access rules. Before the visit we agree on entry, escorts, PPE and off-limits areas, then plan scanner setups to capture pipe racks, structure and equipment while limiting time near hazardous equipment. Your engineers can then measure tie-ins and clearances in the point cloud from their own desks.
Can a scan help on a hillside lot with landslide or mine subsidence concerns?
It can document conditions, though it does not replace a geotechnical study. The county's Landslide Portal maps reported slides and slide-susceptible areas, and PA DEP has estimated that about 230,000 county homes face abandoned-mine subsidence risk. A baseline scan of walls, slabs and grade gives your engineer measured data to compare against a later scan.
How far do you travel within Allegheny County?
Every part of the county is in our normal service range. Our office is at 119 West 10th Ave in Homestead. Pittsburgh International Airport is about 23 miles away by road, and Mon Valley towns such as Braddock and McKeesport are much closer. Scheduling and pricing for county sites are scoped per project, with a free quote.
How is accuracy set for a county project?
We specify it per project using USIBD Level of Accuracy bands, chosen for what the drawings must support. A Monroeville tenant fit-out and a steel tie-in at the Edgar Thomson Plant rarely need the same band, and the quote reflects the one your work calls for. Pricing is scoped per job, and the quote is free.
Related Reading for Allegheny County Projects
- Scanning inside the City of Pittsburgh
- Greensburg, PA service area
- Southpointe and Canonsburg service area
- Warehouse and distribution center scanning
- Scan-to-BIM (Revit) services
- 360° virtual tours
- Estimate the cost of a county scan
For work in a Mon Valley borough, a South Hills township or the airport corridor, request a free quote or call (800) 967-2627.
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