Eighteen of Pittsburgh's large bridges are visible in this aerial photo

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]

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]

History

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 conditions

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 bridges

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.

Monongahela River

Crossing Carries Image Coordinates
Fort Pitt Bridge
I-376 / US 19 Truck / US 22 / US 30		 40°26′20″N 80°00′40″W / 40.4388°N 80.0111°W / 40.4388; -80.0111
Smithfield Street Bridge Smithfield Street 40°26′06″N 80°00′07″W / 40.4351°N 80.0020°W / 40.4351; -80.0020
Panhandle Bridge Pittsburgh Regional Transit T Light Rail Line 40°25′59″N 79°59′53″W / 40.43306°N 79.99806°W / 40.43306; -79.99806
Liberty Bridge Connects Liberty Tunnel to Downtown Pittsburgh 40°25′58″N 79°59′48″W / 40.4328°N 79.9968°W / 40.4328; -79.9968
South Tenth Street Bridge South Tenth Street 40°25′57″N 79°59′21″W / 40.43250°N 79.98917°W / 40.43250; -79.98917
Birmingham Bridge Connects Fifth and Forbes avenues to East Carson Street 40°26′00″N 79°58′25″W / 40.433361°N 79.973499°W / 40.433361; -79.973499
Hot Metal Bridge Great Allegheny Passage/Three Rivers Heritage Trail,

Hot Metal Street
Glenwood Bridge PA 885
Glenwood B&O Railroad Bridge Allegheny Valley Railroad
Homestead Grays Bridge (Homestead High Level Bridge) Blue Belt

Allegheny River

Crossing Carries Image Coordinates
Fort Duquesne Bridge
I-279 / US 19 Truck		 40°26′39″N 80°00′33″W / 40.4443°N 80.0093°W / 40.4443; -80.0093
Roberto Clemente Bridge 6th Street 40°26′44″N 80°00′12″W / 40.4456°N 80.0033°W / 40.4456; -80.0033
Andy Warhol Bridge 7th Street 40°26′46″N 80°00′05″W / 40.44611°N 80.00139°W / 40.44611; -80.00139
Rachel Carson Bridge 9th Street 40°26′48″N 79°59′59″W / 40.4467°N 79.9998°W / 40.4467; -79.9998
Fort Wayne Railroad Bridge Allegheny Valley Railroad, Capitol Limited (Amtrak train), Norfolk Southern Railway Fort Wayne Line 40°26′54″N 79°59′46″W / 40.4482°N 79.9962°W / 40.4482; -79.9962
Veterans Bridge Interstate 579 40°27′00″N 79°59′36″W / 40.4499°N 79.9934°W / 40.4499; -79.9934
David McCullough Bridge 16th Street 40°27′06″N 79°59′27″W / 40.4517°N 79.9909°W / 40.4517; -79.9909
Herr's Island Railroad Bridge (West Penn Bridge)
(rails removed, crosses back channel only)		 Three Rivers Heritage Trail
30th Street Bridge (crosses back channel only) 30th Street
William Raymond Prom Memorial Bridge / 31st Street Bridge 31st Street 40°27′47″N 79°58′33″W / 40.4630°N 79.9758°W / 40.4630; -79.9758
33rd Street Railroad Bridge 33rd Street / Allegheny Valley Railroad P&W Subdivision 40°27′57″N 79°58′25″W / 40.4657°N 79.9736°W / 40.4657; -79.9736
Washington Crossing Bridge / 40th Street Bridge 40th Street 40°28′22″N 79°58′07″W / 40.4728°N 79.9686°W / 40.4728; -79.9686
Senator Robert D. Fleming Bridge / 62nd Street Bridge PA Route 8 / 62nd Street Bridge 40°29′28″N 79°56′17″W / 40.4912°N 79.9381°W / 40.4912; -79.9381
Highland Park Bridge Blue Belt / Highland Park Bridge 40°29′21″N 79°54′43″W / 40.4891°N 79.9120°W / 40.4891; -79.9120
Brilliant Branch Railroad Bridge Allegheny Valley Railroad Brilliant Branch / Brilliant Branch Railroad Bridge 40°29′12″N 79°54′19″W / 40.4866°N 79.9053°W / 40.4866; -79.9053

Ohio River

Crossing Carries Image Coordinates
McKees Rocks Bridge SR 3104 / Blue Belt 40°28′38″N 80°02′54″W / 40.47722°N 80.04833°W / 40.47722; -80.04833
Ohio Connecting Railroad Bridge Norfolk Southern Railway Fort Wayne Line 40°27′46″N 80°02′35″W / 40.46278°N 80.04306°W / 40.46278; -80.04306
West End Bridge U.S. Route 19

Other bridges

This table lists some other major bridges within the City of Pittsburgh limits.

Bridge Carries Over Image
Bloomfield Bridge Liberty Avenue Bloomfleld Bridge - Pittsburgh P&W Subdivision, East Busway, Pittsburgh Line
Brilliant Cutoff Viaduct Brilliant Branch Silver Lake Drive
Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge Boulevard of the Allies[12] Junction Hollow, P&W Subdivision, Three Rivers Heritage Trail
Commercial Street Bridge I-376 / US 22 / US 30 Nine Mile Run, Commercial Street
Fern Hollow Bridge Forbes Avenue Fern Hollow Creek, Fern Hollow
Forbes Avenue Bridge Forbes Avenue Junction Hollow, P&W Subdivision
Frazier Street Bridge I-376 / US 22 / US 30 Junction Hollow, P&W Subdivision, Swinburne Bridge
Greenfield Bridge Greenfield Road / Beechwood Boulevard Four Mile Run, I-376
Larimer Avenue Bridge Larimer Avenue PA 8 (Washington Boulevard)
Lincoln Avenue Bridge Lincoln Avenue PA 8 (Washington Boulevard)
Meadow Street Bridge Meadow Street Negley Run Boulevard
Murray Avenue Bridge Murray Avenue Beechwood Boulevard
Palm Garden Trestle South Busway, Red Line, Blue Line, Silver Line Saw Mill Run, Pennsylvania Route 51, Pittsburgh Subdivision, U.S. Route 19 Truck
Panther Hollow Bridge Panther Hollow Road Panther Hollow, Panther Hollow Run
Schenley Bridge Schenley Drive Junction Hollow, P&W Subdivision
Swinburne Bridge Frazier Street P&W Subdivision, Four Mile Run
Swindell Bridge North Charles Street / Essen Street Interstate 279, East Street

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bridges in Pittsburgh.
  1. ↑ Kidney, Walter C. (1999). Pittsburgh's Bridges: Architecture and Engineering. Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. ISBN 978-0916670214.
  2. ↑ "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.
  3. ↑ Houser, Mark (March 16, 2022). "Does Pittsburgh Really Have More Bridges Than Any Other City?". Pittsburgh Magazine (published April 2022). Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  4. ↑ Smith, Brady. "Pittsburgh: The City of Bridges". The Heinz History Center. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  5. ↑ "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.
  6. ↑ Potter, Chris. "Why are the bridges in Pittsburgh painted yellow?". pghcitypaper.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ "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.
  9. ↑ Simmons, Matt (February 8, 2021). "ON THIS DAY: February 8, 2008, Birmingham Bridge closed after deck drops 8 inches". WPXI. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Frick Park Bridge Collapse: 10 People Injured, 4 Sent To Hospital". CBS Local. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  11. ↑ Felton, Julia (December 22, 2022). "Pittsburgh's new Fern Hollow Bridge reopens to traffic". TribLIVE.com. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  12. ↑ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
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