Point Bridge (Pittsburgh)

The Point Bridge was a steel cantilever truss bridge that spanned the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[1]

Point Bridge
Point Bridge at Fort Pitt Blvd. in 1968, eight years after it closed and two years before it was demolished
Coordinates40.4408°N 80.0145°W / 40.4408; -80.0145
CrossesMonongahela River
LocalePittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Official nameSouth Side Point Bridge
Characteristics
Designcantilever through truss
MaterialSteel
Total length1,120 feet (340 m)
Width38 feet (12 m)
Longest span670 feet (200 m)
Piers in water2
Clearance below60 feet (18 m)
History
OpenedJune 20, 1927
ClosedJune 21, 1959
Location

History
The original Point Bridge
This is the Pittsburgh Point Bridge II looking north across the Monongahela River in 1951.

Point Bridge I

In 1877, a suspension bridge called the Point Bridge was built over the Monongahela River, and is retroactively referred to as Point Bridge I by locals since being replaced by the second Point Bridge, which is sometimes called "Point Bridge II".[2][3]

Point Bridge II

The bridge was constructed from 1925 to 1927 and was opened to traffic on 20 June 1927.[4] Dismantling of the old Point Bridge began that following August, and on October 9 the span was brought down into the Monongahela River by cutting the last cables holding it in place.

The new Point Bridge was constructed by the Fort Pitt Bridge Works of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania and was situated closer to the point than its Allegheny River counterpart, the Manchester Bridge. Its north end landed roughly where the plaza around the Point State Park fountain begins, and its south end landed less than a tenth of a mile east of the Duquesne Incline. The bridge passed over an elevated span above the Point to connect the two bridges.

The Point Bridge II was closed to traffic on June 21, 1959, two days after the dedication and grand opening of the Fort Pitt Bridge. It remained standing until demolition began on April 15, 1970 and was completed that following November. The south landing remains, partly shrouded by trees, between West Station Square Drive and West Carson Street. In 2008, a headstone marking the duration of the bridge's construction was found abandoned on the hillside across from the old south landing; it is now on display at nearby Station Square.

See also

References
  1. "Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County - Point Bridge 1927-1970". May 15, 2002. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  2. http://www.brooklineconnection.com/history/Facts/PointBridge.html
  3. http://pghbridges.com/pittsburghW/0583-4477/point1877.htm
  4. "Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA,2-PITBU,38-". April 1970. Retrieved December 2, 2011.


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