The West End Bridge is a steel

tied-arch bridge A tied-arch bridge is an arch bridge in which the outward-directed horizontal forces of the arch(es) are borne as tension by a chord tying the arch ends rather than by the ground or the bridge foundations. This strengthened chord may be the deck ...

over the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, approximately below the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. It connects the West End to the Chateau neighborhood on the North Side of Pittsburgh. The bridge was built from 1930 to 1932 primarily by the

American Bridge Company The American Bridge Company is a heavy/civil construction firm that specializes in building and renovating bridges and other large, complex structures. Founded in 1900, the company is headquartered in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsb ...

(superstructure) and the Foundation Company (substructure). The bridge was designed by George S. Richardson. It was the longest tied-arch bridge in the world when completed, and just the second bridge to use tied-arch technology over a long span, after the Tacony–Palmyra Bridge (1929) in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. The bridge was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1979 and the List of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks in 2001. As of 2016, the bridge and its surrounding approaches are undergoing some major reconstruction. The Riverlife Task Force conducted a competition in the spring of 2006 to design a pedestrian bridge across the Ohio attached to the West End Bridge. The goal of the competition was to create an iconic architectural element which ties both shore neighborhoods with the waterfronts while eliminating the need for pedestrians to cross traffic lanes and empty lots. The winning design was submitted by Endres Ware (no
Endrestudio
in association with

OLIN Olin may refer to: People Organizations * OLIN, American landscape architecture firm * Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis * Olin College, an undergraduate engineering college in Massachusetts * Olin Corporation, a chem ...

Ammann & Whitney

Auerbach Glasow
and RWDI.

Description

As originally built, the West End Bridge consisted of eight spans (listed from south to north): * Deck girder - * Warren

pony truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements, typically straight, may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

- *Warren pony truss - *Warren pony truss - *Warren pony truss - * Tied-arch main span - *Warren pony truss - *Warren pony truss - *Warren pony truss - *Warren pony truss - The four northern approach spans were demolished in 1990 to build a new interchange with Ohio River Boulevard. The roadway measures curb-to-curb, carrying four traffic lanes, with sidewalks on either side. When built, the bridge had a clearance of above the Ohio River. After construction of the Emsworth Dam in 1938, the clearance was reduced to .

History

A bridge connecting the North Side to the West End was first proposed in 1912 by Pittsburgh businessman Henry Tranter (1865–1940). Tranter formed a committee to lobby for the bridge and spent more than a decade promoting the project. When the bridge was finally dedicated in 1932, Tranter served as master of ceremonies. For these reasons, he was remembered as the "Father of the West End Bridge". In 1928, Pittsburgh voters approved a $43.7 million

bond issue In finance, a bond is a type of security under which the issuer (debtor) owes the holder (creditor) a debt, and is obliged – depending on the terms – to provide cash flow to the creditor (e.g. repay the principal (i.e. amount borrowed) of t ...

to fund a variety of public works, including the West End Bridge, McKees Rocks Bridge, South Tenth Street Bridge, Saw Mill Run Boulevard, Allegheny River Boulevard, and Allegheny County Airport. Work on the West End Bridge began in 1930, with the contracts for the substructure and superstructure being awarded to the Foundation Company of New York and the

, respectively. The bridge was dedicated five months ahead of schedule on December 2, 1932. In the 1970s, planning began for an interchange at the north end of the bridge which would be the "missing link" between the

Fort Duquesne Bridge The Fort Duquesne Bridge is a steel bowstring arch bridge that spans the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was colloquially referred to as " The Bridge to Nowhere" prior to its completion. History The bridge was constructed from ...

and the newly expanded Ohio River Boulevard. However, work did not begin until 1990. During the $46 million project, the bridge was fully rehabilitated and its four northern approach spans were replaced with a new set of ramps. It reopened in 1991. The

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

determined that removal of the approach spans did not compromise the qualities that made the bridge eligible for the

Photos of the West End Bridge

File:West End Bridge.jpg, Looking downstream File:Allegheny Monongahela Ohio.jpg, Looking upstream

References

External links

* {{NRHP bridges Bridges in Pittsburgh Bridges over the Ohio River Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Bridges completed in 1932 Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks Tied arch bridges in the United States U.S. Route 19 Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh Steel bridges in the United States 1932 establishments in Pennsylvania

Description

History

Photos of the West End Bridge

See also

References

External links