The basic structure was built in 1903, and was the third railroad bridge on the site since 1863. It was raised in 1912-14 as part of a grade separation project. The bridge's function was to carry Panhandle Route passenger, mail and express trains from Pennsylvania Station in Pittsburgh, with a tunnel in between the station and the bridge. Pennsy Panhandle freight trains utilized the Ohio Connecting Bridge slightly downstream on the Ohio River, or went the long way around the West Virginia Panhandle via Conway, Pennsylvania.
Rail traffic over the Panhandle Bridge declined as passenger trains were discontinued, and Amtrak became the only regular user of the bridge from 1971 to 1979, when the New York-St. Louis-Kansas City National Limited was discontinued on October 1 of that year. As PRR successor Conrail had no use for the bridge and the restrictive downtown tunnel, it was sold to the Port Authority, who rebuilt the bridge beginning in 1982 as part of the downtown light rail subway project,[1][2] which removed trolleys from downtown streets and the Smithfield Street Bridge. PAT (as the Port Authority system was known at the time) light rail cars began using the bridge on July 7, 1985.
Near the southern end of the bridge, the rails split with a single track going up to Allentown. This was used for a former light rail line, but it is still in use during maintenance work and service disruptions.[3]
^Fisher, Ken (September 24, 1980). "Conrail turning over tunnel, Panhandle Bridge to PAT". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 12 – via Google News Archive Search.
^Blackley, Katie (May 27, 2019). "Where Do The Abandoned Third Set Of Tracks At Steel Plaza Lead?". 90.5 WESA.
^O'Toole, Bill (September 6, 2018). "Will the T return to Allentown? Residents and business owners weigh in". NEXTpittsburgh. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
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panhandle, bridge, officially, monongahela, river, bridge, carries, three, lines, port, authority, light, rail, network, across, monongahela, river, pittsburgh, pennsylvania, name, comes, from, pennsylvania, railroad, subsidiary, pittsburgh, cincinnati, chicag. The Panhandle Bridge officially the Monongahela River Bridge carries the three lines of the Port Authority Light Rail Network across the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania The name comes from Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary Pittsburgh Cincinnati Chicago and St Louis Railroad also known as the Panhandle Route which operated over the bridge Panhandle BridgeCoordinates40 25 59 12 N 79 59 53 06 W 40 4330889 N 79 9980722 W 40 4330889 79 9980722Carries2 tracks of the PAT T Line CrossesMonongahela RiverLocalePittsburgh PennsylvaniaOfficial nameMonongahela River BridgeCharacteristicsDesignTruss bridgeHistoryOpened1903LocationThe basic structure was built in 1903 and was the third railroad bridge on the site since 1863 It was raised in 1912 14 as part of a grade separation project The bridge s function was to carry Panhandle Route passenger mail and express trains from Pennsylvania Station in Pittsburgh with a tunnel in between the station and the bridge Pennsy Panhandle freight trains utilized the Ohio Connecting Bridge slightly downstream on the Ohio River or went the long way around the West Virginia Panhandle via Conway Pennsylvania Rail traffic over the Panhandle Bridge declined as passenger trains were discontinued and Amtrak became the only regular user of the bridge from 1971 to 1979 when the New York St Louis Kansas City National Limited was discontinued on October 1 of that year As PRR successor Conrail had no use for the bridge and the restrictive downtown tunnel it was sold to the Port Authority who rebuilt the bridge beginning in 1982 as part of the downtown light rail subway project 1 2 which removed trolleys from downtown streets and the Smithfield Street Bridge PAT as the Port Authority system was known at the time light rail cars began using the bridge on July 7 1985 Near the southern end of the bridge the rails split with a single track going up to Allentown This was used for a former light rail line but it is still in use during maintenance work and service disruptions 3 See also Edit nbsp Trains portalList of crossings of the Monongahela River Pittsburgh amp Steubenville Extension Railroad Tunnel Pittsburgh Cincinnati Chicago and St Louis Railroad nbsp A one car T Light Rail train crosses the bridge nbsp Bridge supports from the river nbsp Light rail crossing the bridgeReferences Edit Fisher Ken September 24 1980 Conrail turning over tunnel Panhandle Bridge to PAT Pittsburgh Post Gazette p 12 via Google News Archive Search Blackley Katie May 27 2019 Where Do The Abandoned Third Set Of Tracks At Steel Plaza Lead 90 5 WESA O Toole Bill September 6 2018 Will the T return to Allentown Residents and business owners weigh in NEXTpittsburgh Retrieved June 23 2023 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Panhandle Bridge Panhandle Bridge on pghbridges com Panhandle 1903 at Structurae nbsp This article about a specific rail bridge in the United States is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This article about a bridge in Pennsylvania is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This article related to a building or structure in Pittsburgh is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Panhandle Bridge amp oldid 1161498121, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
