Liberty Bridge (Pittsburgh)

Liberty Bridge

The arching Liberty bridge (second from foreground) crosses the Monongahela.
Coordinates 40°25′58″N 79°59′48″W / 40.432800°N 79.996776°W / 40.432800; -79.996776Coordinates: 40°25′58″N 79°59′48″W / 40.432800°N 79.996776°W / 40.432800; -79.996776
Carries 4 lanes of roadway
Crosses Monongahela River
Locale Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Official name Liberty Bridge
Other name(s) South Hills Bridge
Maintained by Allegheny County
Characteristics
Design Cantilever bridge
Material steel
Total length 2,663 feet (812 m)
Longest span 2 spans, each 448 feet (137 m)
Clearance below 44.4 feet (13.5 m)
History
Opened March 27, 1928 (1928-03-27)

The Liberty Bridge, completed in 1928, connects downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the Liberty Tunnels and the South Hills neighborhoods beyond. It crosses the Monongahela River and intersects Interstate 579 (the Crosstown Boulevard) at its northern terminus.

History

View of the Liberty Bridge 5 months after its opening, taken from the Bluff neighborhood.

The Liberty Bridge was constructed as the missing link between downtown Pittsburgh and the Liberty Tunnel, which had been constructed four years earlier in 1924 as a link to the South Hills. The bridge opened on March 27, 1928, following a 5-mile (8.0 km) vehicle parade[1] from the southern suburbs of the city, which crossed the Smithfield Street Bridge and proceeded through downtown before ending at the southern end of the new bridge.[2]

Fire

On September 2, 2016 the Liberty Bridge was closed for 24 days,[3] following a fire during construction work[4] on the bridge. Intense heat from burning plastic piping had caused a 30-foot (9.1 m) steel beam (compression chord) to buckle.[5] The bridge reopened to weight-limited traffic on September 27th, and full traffic on September 30th. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation assessed the value of the damages at over $3,000,000.[6]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Liberty Bridge, Pittsburgh.
  1. ↑ "The Liberty Bridge Dedication - 1928". Retrieved October 25, 2010.
  2. ↑ Gruen, J. Philip (August 1997). "Liberty Bridge" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 7. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Liberty Bridge open again, but with a 9-ton limit on vehicles". September 26, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Fire closes Liberty Bridge and Tunnel indefinitely, causing traffic nightmare". September 2, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  5. ↑ "PennDOT works on Liberty Bridge timeline". September 4, 2016. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  6. ↑ "PennDOT sets damages from Liberty Bridge closure at $3 million". November 2, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.


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