Ironically, a few days after my catch-up post about the Murray Avenue Bridge in Squirrel Hill went live, I unexpectedly found myself walking that bridge for the first time since 2012. The bridge looks mostly the same, slightly rusted but presumable functional as it hasn’t collapsed or been closed following a regular inspection. The stairs have been replaced though. I didn’t have a reason to go down them in 2012 and didn’t feel comfortable testing them out for the heck of it then. In 2025, the Urban Hike walk I was on came at the bridge from the street below and we climbed up the newish, solid-looking steps; a few of us (me included) pausing “for the view” on our way up.
The before and after photo pairs below don’t exactly line up, given the different angles and orientations of the photos, but it seemed a good opportunity to try out the image compare option. Before: August 2012, After: August 2025.
Duck Hollow is a mini neighborhood where Frick Park’s Nine Mile Run meets the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh. A handful of houses sit in the Hollow accessible only by an old one-lane bridge on a small spur of Second Avenue or the new bridge on McFarren Street that opened in 2020 (though it was only 2 years old at the time of the Bridge Report and presumably doesn’t see much traffic, it only received an overall grade of “good”). The houses of Duck Hollow are separated from the river by the railroad that crosses Nine Mile Run on the bridge above Second Avenue. These photos are from a walk my COVID-pod and I took of Frick Park in Fall 2020.
I walk bridges faster than I can post about them. Here are views of and from Pittsburgh’s Murray Avenue Bridge over Beechwood Blvd that I took when I walked it in 2012.
The week before Bridge Madness 2025, my aunt asked why I’m interested in bridges. The answer actually has nothing to do with the bridges themselves.
In 2009-2010, I volunteered in AmeriCorps in Pittsburgh, a city I thought I knew until AmeriCorps exposed me to a different side of the city. After 11 months of eye-opening experiences teaching me that Pittsburgh is far more than its downtown, museums, universities, and middle- and upper-income neighborhoods, I found myself attending a fundraiser at a house on Grandview Avenue.
Grandview Avenue is well named. It sits on top of a ridge directly across the river from downtown Pittsburgh, providing great views of the skyline and neighborhoods along the rivers. It is a popular spot to bring out-of-town visitors to show off the city and ride one of the two remaining inclines. I had been there countless times first as an out-of-town visitor and later as a resident bringing out-of-towners. The view from the street and lookout platforms is very familiar to me (and still fun).
But on that day in 2010, I suddenly found myself up 4 stories on a rooftop deck, looking at the same buildings, rivers, and neighborhoods I thought I knew and feeling like I was looking at a completely different scene.
It fascinated me that moving 40 feet made something familiar look brand new. As I stood at the railing pondering this, instead of mingling with the strangers who could afford a ticket to this fundraiser (unlike me who had been gifted a ticket), Pittsburgh’s iconic bridges were part of the view. I realized that the city would look completely differently from each of those bridges. And so I decided to start walking the bridges to continue increasing my perspectives and awareness of Pittsburgh.
The rest, as they say, is history. I thought it would be just a summer project. However, it has been so interesting….and there are still so many bridges to walk….that it has become a life habit. In the meantime, I have started getting interested in the structures themselves, not just the views from them.
Two days after I told this story to my aunt, I walked across part of the East Liberty Station Pedestrian Bridge (Bridge Madness Champion 2024) at sunset. This is not the first time I’ve been on this bridge going about my daily business when I needed to stop to take photos of the view of sunset. In this instance, I then immediately walked down the steps to the busway station below. My experience of the sunset changed completely with the change in perspective. From the bridge, it seemed spectacular, but at the sidewalk below I no longer recognized it as something worthy of notice.
Have you ever noticed a time when a slight shift in perspective changed how you viewed your surroundings?
Sunset from the bridge 2025Sunset from the sidewalk below the bridge 2025
The Mid-Hudson Bridge in Poughkeepsie wins Bridge Madness 2025 with 88% of the votes.
Thank you for participating in the 2025 Bridge Madness Tournament! I hope you had as much fun voting as I did watching the votes add up. There were several surprises in this year’s match-up. Multiple iconic bridges got knocked out early; and the Mid-Hudson Bridge inspired a strong following right from the beginning.
As a reminder, this year’s tournament featured suspension bridges visited by urbantraipsing nationally and internationally. Below is the completed brackets for Bridge Madness 2025. To learn more about the bridges, revisit the introduction which has links to posts on each bridge. Keep scrolling to see past winners and for an opportunity to send me feedback on Bridge Madness.
I’m already brainstorming for Bridge Madness 2026. Hope you come back!
Past Winners
Bridge Madness 2024: Pittsburgh Pedestrian Bridges Winner – East Liberty Station Pedestrian Bridge
Bridge Madness 2023: Pittsburgh River Bridges Winner – Smithfield Street Bridge
Bridge Madness 2025 Map
Send me Feedback!
Bridge Madness started from a conversation with one of urbantraipsing’s fans. I added links to posts about the bridges in the introduction this year based on feedback from participants in prior years. Now it’s your turn to send me feedback. Do you have suggestions that would make the tournaments more fun? Thoughts on how to engage more people in voting? A bridge you recommend I add to my list of bridges to explore?
Also, I make a postcard every year announcing Bridge Madness, if you fill in your address below, I will add you to my mailing list for next year (the postcard is the only mailing I will send you).
In the 2025 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 suspension bridges go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features suspension bridges visited by urbantraipsing nationally and internationally.
Results of the Final Four:
6th Street Bridge vs. Manhattan Bridge – 69% to 31%
Albert Bridge vs. Mid-Hudson Bridge – 15% to 85%
Below is the bracket for the Championship. To learn more about the bridges, revisit the introduction which has links to posts on each bridge.
Championship
6th Street Bridge – PittsburghMid-Hudson Bridge – Poughkeepsie
In the 2025 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 suspension bridges go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features suspension bridges visited by urbantraipsing nationally and internationally.
Results of the Elite Eight:
6th Street Bridge vs. 7th Street Bridge – 64% to 36%
Brooklyn Bridge vs. Manhattan Bridge – 44% to 56%
Albert Bridge vs. Golden Gate Bridge – 51% to 49%
Mid-Hudson Bridge vs. Tower Bridge – 79% to 21%
Below are the brackets for the Final Four. Remember to vote for one bridge in each bracket by noon on Thursday, March 20th, and then return on March 22th to vote for the Championship.
The bridges are divided into two conferences: New York City and Great Lakes Region vs. National and International. To learn more about the bridges, revisit the introduction which has links to posts on each bridge.
New York City and Great Lakes Region
6th Street Bridge – PittsburghManhattan Bridge – New York City
National and International
Albert Bridge – LondonMid-Hudson Bridge – Poughkeepsie
In the 2025 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 suspension bridges go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features suspension bridges visited by urbantraipsing nationally and internationally.
Results of the Sweet Sixteen:
6th Street Bridge vs. Roebling Suspension Bridge – 52% to 48%
7th Street Bridge vs. Wheeling Suspension Bridge – 60% to 40%
9th Street Bridge vs. Brooklyn Bridge – 28% to 72%
South 10th Street Bridge vs. Manhattan Bridge – 16% to 74%
Albert Bridge vs. Lions Gate Bridge – 58% to 42%
Chelsea Bridge vs. Golden Gate Bridge – 35% to 65%
Jubilee Bridges vs. Mid-Hudson Bridge – 10% to 90%
Tower Bridge vs. Bosphorus Bridge – 83% to 17%
Below are the brackets for the Elite Eight. Remember to vote for one bridge in each bracket by noon on Thursday, March 13th, and then return on March 15th to vote for the Final Four.
The bridges are divided into two conferences: New York City and Great Lakes Region vs. National and International. To learn more about the bridges, revisit the introduction which has links to posts on each bridge.
New York City and Great Lakes Region
6th Street Bridge – Pittsburgh7th Street Bridge – PittsburghBrooklyn Bridge – New York CityManhattan Bridge – New York City
National and International
Albert Bridge – LondonGolden Gate Bridge – San FranciscoMid-Hudson Bridge – PoughkeepsieTower Bridge – London
In the 2025 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 suspension bridges go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features suspension bridges visited by urbantraipsing nationally and internationally. Below are the brackets for the Sweet Sixteen. Remember to vote for one bridge in each bracket by noon on Thursday, March 6th, and then return on March 8th to vote for the Elite Eight.
The bridges are divided into two conferences: New York City and Great Lakes Region vs. National and International. To learn more about the bridges, revisit the introduction which has links to posts on each bridge.
New York City and Great Lakes Region
6th Street Bridge – PittsburghRoebling Suspension Bridge – Cincinnati7th Street Bridge – PittsburghWheeling Suspension Bridge – Wheeling9th Street Bridge – PittsburghBrooklyn Bridge – New York CityS. 10th Street Bridge – PittsburghManhattan Bridge – New York City
National and International
Albert Bridge – LondonLions Gate Bridge – VancouverChelsea Bridge – LondonGolden Gate Bridge – San FranciscoJubilee Bridges – LondonMid-Hudson Bridge – PoughkeepsieTower Bridge – LondonBosphorus Bridge – Istanbul
In the 2025 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 suspension bridges go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features suspension bridges visited by urbantraipsing nationally and internationally. Beginning March 1, you will be able to vote for your favorite bridge in each bracket. The champion bridge will be announced on March 29. Don’t forget to come back each week to vote your favorite bridge to #1!
Each round of voting will go live at 8 AM on the scheduled Saturday and close at noon the following Thursday. The schedule is:
March 1 – Sweet Sixteen
March 8 – Elite Eight
March 15 – Final Four
March 22 – Championship
March 29 – Winner announced
The bridges are divided into two conferences: New York City and Great Lakes Region vs. National and International.
New York City and Great Lakes Region
The suspension bridges in the New York City and Great Lakes Region Conference are below. Click on the links to learn more about urbantraipsing’s encounter with each bridge.
The suspension bridges in the National and International Conference are below. Click on the links to learn more about urbantraipsing’s encounter with each bridge.
urbantraipsing 