The bridges of Pittsburgh play an important role in the city's transportation system. Without bridges, the Pittsburgh region would be a series of fragmented valleys, hillsides, river plains, and isolated communities.[1]
Eighteen of Pittsburgh's large bridges are visible in this aerial photo
A 2006 study[2] determined that, at the time, Pittsburgh had 446 bridges, though that number has been disputed.[3] With its proximity to three major rivers and countless hills and ravines, Pittsburgh is known as "The City of Bridges".[4]
Pittsburgh's first river bridges, made of wood and long since replaced, opened in 1818 at Smithfield Street and 1819 at Sixth Street (then St. Clair Street). The city's oldest in-service bridge is the current Smithfield Street Bridge, which opened in 1883; it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.[5] Pittsburgh waged a massive road and bridge building campaign from 1924 to 1940; most of Pittsburgh's oldest major bridges date from this period. The coming of the Interstate Highway System triggered more construction in the second half of the twentieth century, as vehicular speed and throughput requirements increased. The result of more than 100 years of bridge building is a collection of most of the major types of bridge (suspension, cantilever, arch, etc.), mostly built from locally produced steel, including about forty river spans.
Many of the bridges in the Downtown area are colored Aztec Gold,[6] either constructed as such or painted afterward, to match the city's official colors of black and gold. A few old and out-of-service bridges, such as the Hot Metal Bridge (which stood dormant until reopening as a passenger bridge in the year 2000), are exceptions to this rule.
Degrading bridge conditionsedit
According to a 2011 study by Transportation for America, 1,194 bridges in the Pittsburgh area—or 30.4%—were deficient, the highest proportion in the nation.[7][8]
On February 8, 2008, the Birmingham Bridge suffered a failure of its rocker bearings, causing the deck to drop eight inches, prompting a closure of the bridge. The bridge was repaired and fully reopened on September 8, 2008.[9]
On January 28, 2022, the Fern Hollow Bridge across Frick Park collapsed, forcing the closure of Forbes Avenue through the park. The bridge was covered with snow when it collapsed at 6:39 a.m. local time as it was being crossed by several cars and a bus.[10] The bridge was rebuilt and reopened on December 22, 2022.[11]
Major bridgesedit
This table lists all bridges crossing the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers in the City of Pittsburgh limits. Other large or notable bridges are also included.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bridges in Pittsburgh.
^Kidney, Walter C. (1999). Pittsburgh's Bridges: Architecture and Engineering. Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. ISBN978-0916670214.
^. thePittsburghchannel.com. September 13, 2006. Archived from the original on February 4, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
^Houser, Mark (March 16, 2022). "Does Pittsburgh Really Have More Bridges Than Any Other City?". Pittsburgh Magazine (published April 2022). Retrieved March 21, 2023.
^Smith, Brady. "Pittsburgh: The City of Bridges". The Heinz History Center. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
^"Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Pennsylvania" (PDF). National Park Service. June 2013. p. 5. (PDF) from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
^Potter, Chris. "Why are the bridges in Pittsburgh painted yellow?". pghcitypaper.com. from the original on February 22, 2014.
^Schmitz, Jon (October 19, 2011). "Bridges in Pittsburgh labeled the worst". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. from the original on November 22, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
^(PDF). Metropolitan Bridge Rankings. Transportation for America. October 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
^Simmons, Matt (February 8, 2021). "ON THIS DAY: February 8, 2008, Birmingham Bridge closed after deck drops 8 inches". WPXI. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
^"Frick Park Bridge Collapse: 10 People Injured, 4 Sent To Hospital". CBS Local. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
^Felton, Julia (December 22, 2022). "Pittsburgh's new Fern Hollow Bridge reopens to traffic". TribLIVE.com. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
^Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
External linksedit
Bridges & Tunnels of Allegheny County and Pittsburgh, PA
list, bridges, pittsburgh, bridges, pittsburgh, play, important, role, city, transportation, system, without, bridges, pittsburgh, region, would, series, fragmented, valleys, hillsides, river, plains, isolated, communities, eighteen, pittsburgh, large, bridges. The bridges of Pittsburgh play an important role in the city s transportation system Without bridges the Pittsburgh region would be a series of fragmented valleys hillsides river plains and isolated communities 1 Eighteen of Pittsburgh s large bridges are visible in this aerial photoA 2006 study 2 determined that at the time Pittsburgh had 446 bridges though that number has been disputed 3 With its proximity to three major rivers and countless hills and ravines Pittsburgh is known as The City of Bridges 4 Contents 1 History 2 Degrading bridge conditions 3 Major bridges 3 1 Monongahela River 3 2 Allegheny River 3 3 Ohio River 3 4 Other bridges 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory editPittsburgh s first river bridges made of wood and long since replaced opened in 1818 at Smithfield Street and 1819 at Sixth Street then St Clair Street The city s oldest in service bridge is the current Smithfield Street Bridge which opened in 1883 it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976 5 Pittsburgh waged a massive road and bridge building campaign from 1924 to 1940 most of Pittsburgh s oldest major bridges date from this period The coming of the Interstate Highway System triggered more construction in the second half of the twentieth century as vehicular speed and throughput requirements increased The result of more than 100 years of bridge building is a collection of most of the major types of bridge suspension cantilever arch etc mostly built from locally produced steel including about forty river spans Many of the bridges in the Downtown area are colored Aztec Gold 6 either constructed as such or painted afterward to match the city s official colors of black and gold A few old and out of service bridges such as the Hot Metal Bridge which stood dormant until reopening as a passenger bridge in the year 2000 are exceptions to this rule Degrading bridge conditions editAccording to a 2011 study by Transportation for America 1 194 bridges in the Pittsburgh area or 30 4 were deficient the highest proportion in the nation 7 8 On February 8 2008 the Birmingham Bridge suffered a failure of its rocker bearings causing the deck to drop eight inches prompting a closure of the bridge The bridge was repaired and fully reopened on September 8 2008 9 On January 28 2022 the Fern Hollow Bridge across Frick Park collapsed forcing the closure of Forbes Avenue through the park The bridge was covered with snow when it collapsed at 6 39 a m local time as it was being crossed by several cars and a bus 10 The bridge was rebuilt and reopened on December 22 2022 11 Major bridges editThis table lists all bridges crossing the Allegheny Monongahela and Ohio rivers in the City of Pittsburgh limits Other large or notable bridges are also included Monongahela River edit See also List of crossings of the Monongahela River Crossing Carries Image CoordinatesFort Pitt Bridge nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp I 376 US 19 Truck US 22 US 30 nbsp 40 26 20 N 80 00 40 W 40 4388 N 80 0111 W 40 4388 80 0111Smithfield Street Bridge Smithfield Street nbsp 40 26 06 N 80 00 07 W 40 4351 N 80 0020 W 40 4351 80 0020Panhandle Bridge Pittsburgh Regional Transit T Light Rail Line nbsp 40 25 59 N 79 59 53 W 40 43306 N 79 99806 W 40 43306 79 99806Liberty Bridge Connects Liberty Tunnel to Downtown Pittsburgh nbsp 40 25 58 N 79 59 48 W 40 4328 N 79 9968 W 40 4328 79 9968South Tenth Street Bridge South Tenth Street nbsp 40 25 57 N 79 59 21 W 40 43250 N 79 98917 W 40 43250 79 98917Birmingham Bridge Connects Fifth and Forbes avenues to East Carson Street nbsp 40 26 00 N 79 58 25 W 40 433361 N 79 973499 W 40 433361 79 973499Hot Metal Bridge Great Allegheny Passage Three Rivers Heritage Trail Hot Metal Street nbsp Glenwood Bridge nbsp PA 885 nbsp Glenwood B amp O Railroad Bridge Allegheny Valley Railroad nbsp Homestead Grays Bridge Homestead High Level Bridge nbsp Blue Belt nbsp Allegheny River edit See also List of crossings of the Allegheny River Pennsylvania Crossing Carries Image CoordinatesFort Duquesne Bridge nbsp nbsp nbsp I 279 US 19 Truck nbsp 40 26 39 N 80 00 33 W 40 4443 N 80 0093 W 40 4443 80 0093Roberto Clemente Bridge 6th Street nbsp 40 26 44 N 80 00 12 W 40 4456 N 80 0033 W 40 4456 80 0033Andy Warhol Bridge 7th Street nbsp 40 26 46 N 80 00 05 W 40 44611 N 80 00139 W 40 44611 80 00139Rachel Carson Bridge 9th Street nbsp 40 26 48 N 79 59 59 W 40 4467 N 79 9998 W 40 4467 79 9998Fort Wayne Railroad Bridge Allegheny Valley Railroad Capitol Limited Amtrak train Norfolk Southern Railway Fort Wayne Line nbsp 40 26 54 N 79 59 46 W 40 4482 N 79 9962 W 40 4482 79 9962Veterans Bridge nbsp Interstate 579 nbsp 40 27 00 N 79 59 36 W 40 4499 N 79 9934 W 40 4499 79 9934David McCullough Bridge 16th Street nbsp 40 27 06 N 79 59 27 W 40 4517 N 79 9909 W 40 4517 79 9909Herr s Island Railroad Bridge West Penn Bridge rails removed crosses back channel only Three Rivers Heritage Trail nbsp 30th Street Bridge crosses back channel only 30th Street nbsp William Raymond Prom Memorial Bridge 31st Street Bridge 31st Street nbsp 40 27 47 N 79 58 33 W 40 4630 N 79 9758 W 40 4630 79 975833rd Street Railroad Bridge 33rd Street Allegheny Valley Railroad P amp W Subdivision nbsp 40 27 57 N 79 58 25 W 40 4657 N 79 9736 W 40 4657 79 9736Washington Crossing Bridge 40th Street Bridge 40th Street nbsp 40 28 22 N 79 58 07 W 40 4728 N 79 9686 W 40 4728 79 9686Senator Robert D Fleming Bridge 62nd Street Bridge PA Route 8 62nd Street Bridge nbsp 40 29 28 N 79 56 17 W 40 4912 N 79 9381 W 40 4912 79 9381Highland Park Bridge Blue Belt Highland Park Bridge nbsp 40 29 21 N 79 54 43 W 40 4891 N 79 9120 W 40 4891 79 9120Brilliant Branch Railroad Bridge Allegheny Valley Railroad Brilliant Branch Brilliant Branch Railroad Bridge nbsp 40 29 12 N 79 54 19 W 40 4866 N 79 9053 W 40 4866 79 9053Ohio River edit See also List of crossings of the Ohio River Pennsylvania Crossing Carries Image CoordinatesMcKees Rocks Bridge nbsp SR 3104 Blue Belt nbsp 40 28 38 N 80 02 54 W 40 47722 N 80 04833 W 40 47722 80 04833Ohio Connecting Railroad Bridge Norfolk Southern Railway Fort Wayne Line nbsp 40 27 46 N 80 02 35 W 40 46278 N 80 04306 W 40 46278 80 04306West End Bridge nbsp U S Route 19 nbsp Other bridges edit This table lists some other major bridges within the City of Pittsburgh limits Bridge Carries Over ImageBloomfield Bridge Liberty Avenue Bloomfleld Bridge Pittsburgh P amp W Subdivision East Busway Pittsburgh Line nbsp Brilliant Cutoff Viaduct Brilliant Branch Silver Lake Drive nbsp Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge Boulevard of the Allies 12 Junction Hollow P amp W Subdivision Three Rivers Heritage Trail nbsp Commercial Street Bridge nbsp nbsp nbsp I 376 US 22 US 30 Nine Mile Run Commercial Street nbsp Fern Hollow Bridge Forbes Avenue Fern Hollow Creek Fern Hollow nbsp Forbes Avenue Bridge Forbes Avenue Junction Hollow P amp W Subdivision nbsp Frazier Street Bridge nbsp nbsp nbsp I 376 US 22 US 30 Junction Hollow P amp W Subdivision Swinburne Bridge nbsp Greenfield Bridge Greenfield Road Beechwood Boulevard Four Mile Run nbsp I 376 nbsp Larimer Avenue Bridge Larimer Avenue nbsp PA 8 Washington Boulevard nbsp Lincoln Avenue Bridge Lincoln Avenue nbsp PA 8 Washington Boulevard nbsp Meadow Street Bridge Meadow Street Negley Run Boulevard nbsp Murray Avenue Bridge Murray Avenue Beechwood Boulevard nbsp Palm Garden Trestle South Busway Red Line Blue Line Silver Line Saw Mill Run Pennsylvania Route 51 Pittsburgh Subdivision U S Route 19 Truck nbsp Panther Hollow Bridge Panther Hollow Road Panther Hollow Panther Hollow Run nbsp Schenley Bridge Schenley Drive Junction Hollow P amp W Subdivision nbsp Swinburne Bridge Frazier Street P amp W Subdivision Four Mile Run nbsp Swindell Bridge North Charles Street Essen Street Interstate 279 East Street nbsp See also edit nbsp Transport portal nbsp Engineering portal nbsp Pennsylvania portal List of tunnels in Pittsburgh Crossings of the Ohio River in Pennsylvania Crossings of the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania Crossings of the Monongahela River in PennsylvaniaReferences edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bridges in Pittsburgh Kidney Walter C 1999 Pittsburgh s Bridges Architecture and Engineering Pittsburgh PA Pittsburgh History amp Landmarks Foundation ISBN 978 0916670214 Just How Many Bridges Are There In Pittsburgh thePittsburghchannel com September 13 2006 Archived from the original on February 4 2010 Retrieved January 30 2010 Houser Mark March 16 2022 Does Pittsburgh Really Have More Bridges Than Any Other City Pittsburgh Magazine published April 2022 Retrieved March 21 2023 Smith Brady Pittsburgh The City of Bridges The Heinz History Center Retrieved January 28 2022 Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State Pennsylvania PDF National Park Service June 2013 p 5 Archived PDF from the original on November 5 2012 Retrieved August 7 2013 Potter Chris Why are the bridges in Pittsburgh painted yellow pghcitypaper com Archived from the original on February 22 2014 Schmitz Jon October 19 2011 Bridges in Pittsburgh labeled the worst Pittsburgh Post Gazette Archived from the original on November 22 2011 Retrieved November 28 2011 The Fix We re In For The State of Our Nation s Busiest Bridges PDF Metropolitan Bridge Rankings Transportation for America October 2011 Archived from the original PDF on November 12 2011 Retrieved November 28 2011 Simmons Matt February 8 2021 ON THIS DAY February 8 2008 Birmingham Bridge closed after deck drops 8 inches WPXI Retrieved January 28 2022 Frick Park Bridge Collapse 10 People Injured 4 Sent To Hospital CBS Local Retrieved August 6 2022 Felton Julia December 22 2022 Pittsburgh s new Fern Hollow Bridge reopens to traffic TribLIVE com Retrieved May 22 2023 Error Unable to display the reference properly See the documentation for details External links editBridges amp Tunnels of Allegheny County and Pittsburgh PA Allegheny County entry at Historic Bridges urbantraipsing wordpress com pittsburgh bridges Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title List of bridges of Pittsburgh amp oldid 1180572926, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
