PITTSBURGH — Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh is now UPMC Mercy.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center took over Pittsburgh's oldest hospital in a $120 million deal. Mercy was founded in 1847 by the Sisters of Mercy.

The Vatican approved the deal in November, following state and federal approval earlier in 2007. Mercy will remain a Catholic hospital.

Mercy and UPMC officials say the deal was necessary to keep Mercy from closing. Mercy had lost $42 million in the three years before the deal was announced in September 2006.

PITTSBURGH — One of the biggest road construction projects in Pittsburgh this year is about to get under way.PennDOT will start tearing down the Boulevard of the Allies bridge over Forbes Avenue on Thursday night.The $29 million bridge replacement project will delay about 50,000 motorists who use the road each day. The bridge carries traffic into Oakland, a city neighborhood that is home to several colleges and universities, including Pitt and Carnegie Mellon.The reconstructed bridge is expected to open in November.

SCRANTON — The state will help Lackawanna County pay for a new voting system for the April 22 primary.The Department of State has agreed to reimburse the county up to $1.7 million to help pay for a voting system to replace the Advanced Voting Solutions electronic machines that have been decertified.Department of State spokeswoman Leslie Amoros says Wayne and Northampton counties will receive similar offers to replace the AVS touch-screen machines.In 2006, Lackawanna County purchased 500 electronic voting machines from AVS for $1.7 million. The state suspended certification of the machines after AVS failed to gain federal certification.