People and Organizations That Steel Our Heart

The Bridges of Pittsburgh

We already know that southwestern Pennsylvania has some of the most picturesque scenery and natural landscaping. What many people may not realize, however, is that this region is home to more bridges per square mile and per capita than any other city in the world. Although the actual number of bridges will vary depending on variables such as bridge length, function, and location, the Pittsburgh area boasts 30 river bridges in Pittsburgh alone, with an additional 29 within Allegheny County. If you were to add in bridges that cross streams, roads, railroads, or ravines, the number climbs to over 2,000. That number doesn’t even include bridges that were built specifically for railroads!

The Pittsburgh area contains some of the most technologically advanced bridges in the world, and some of the most effective bridge-building techniques were pioneered here. The Three Sisters were uniquely constructed: they were the first self-anchored suspension bridges. Or take the Smithfield Street Bridge; its design was the first of its kind, a combination of suspension and arch. The detailed history of our city’s bridges is extensive, and the combinations of design and beauty are testaments to Pittsburgh’s long tradition and heritage of steelmaking.

The Smithfield Street Bridge

However, Pittsburgh’s very first bridge wasn’t steel at all, it was wood. The Smithfield Street Bridge, first built in 1820, was one of many popular covered bridges, designed so the weather wouldn’t affect the wooden roadway. As industrialism came, the bridge designs of earlier years were becoming obsolete and impractical. Locally, the beginning of a successful area of commerce came after the development of factories and an over-reliance on steamboats and ferries, which could no longer handle the growing amount of commercial and residential traffic. Even though the newly developed (steel) Smithfield Street Bridge was destroyed by a fire in 1845, it was rebuilt the following year with a more modern, yet not lasting, steel design.

John Roebling, who would later create the Brooklyn Bridge with the same design scheme, developed a system of wire rope suspensions. (His bridge also charged a toll for passage, which was later removed in the late 1800s when the city bought the bridge.) However, a more modern steel structure was needed, and Smithfield Street Bridge as it stands today was built between 1881 and 1883 by engineer Gustav Lindenthal. He designed what is probably the oldest extant steel truss in the United States. The Smithfield Street Bridge features a combination of then-pioneering techniques, suspension and arch. Thousands of cars and pedestrians still use it today, which speaks to its ingenuity and design. Not surprisingly, Pittsburgh also features other distinguishing bridge characteristics.

6th, 7th, and 9th Street Bridges, better known as the Roberto Clemente Bridge, the Andy Warhol Bridge, and the Rachel Carson Bridge

The identical 6th, 7th, and 9th Street Bridges, nicknamed “The Three Sisters,” are the only example in the country of identical bridges constructed side-by-side. Like many downtown river bridges, the Sisters are painted yellow, representing the black and gold colors that are so prominently associated with Pittsburgh.  And not unlike the original Smithfield Street Bridge, the 6th Street Bridge also burned down in the late 1800s due to sparrows, whose nests in the beams caught fire from passing smoke stacks in steamboats.

The rebuilt 6th Street Bridge would later go on to win The American Institute of Steel Construction’s “most beautiful steel bridge” award in 1928. Always a city to give credit where it’s due, in 1999 the 6th Street Bridge was renamed The Roberto Clemente Bridge in commemoration of the legendary baseball player. Later, in 2005 the 7th Street Bridge was renamed The Andy Warhol Bridge in honor of the Warhol Museum’s 10th Anniversary and of Pittsburgh native Andy Warhol. Last, but not least, 2006 marked the year the 9th Street Bridge was renamed The Rachel Carson Bridge, memorializing the Pittsburgh-born author who wrote 1962’s “Silent Spring,” a book that became a catalyst for the modern environmental movement.

Last but not least: Fort Duquesne Bridge, Fort Wayne Railroad Bridge, the Veteran’s Bridge, and the 16th Street Bridge

Other downtown bridges that cross the Allegheny River include Ft. Duquesne Bridge, Ft. Wayne Railroad Bridge, the Veteran’s Bridge, and the 16th Street Bridge. The Ft. Duquesne Bridge has also been known as “the bridge to nowhere” because of several construction delays that for many years left the bridge’s end extending to, well, nowhere. On December 12, 1964, a University of Pittsburgh student made bridge history when she accidentally drove her car off the Ft. Duquesne Bridge, only to land on the other side- completely unharmed. 

Bridges and Buildings. 2007. 10 February 2007.
            http://www.wqed.org/erc/pghist/units/build/structure1.shtml

www.pghbridges.com. 16 August 2002. 10 February 2007.

Powell, Kimberly & Albrecht. Pittsburgh- A City of Bridges.  2007. 10 February 2007.