East Liberty Station Pedestrian Bridge, August 2020, Carolyn RistauSpahr Street Pedestrian Bridge, February 2022, Carolyn Ristau
The winner of the 2024 Bridge Madness tournament, the East Liberty Station Pedestrian Bridge, faced stiff competition in the Final Four round from the Spahr Street Pedestrian Bridge. Both of these bridges are relatively new, constructed with funding sources from the Obama Administration. When I moved to Pittsburgh 15 years ago, neither of these bridges existed. There was no pedestrian connection at Spahr Street and the pedestrian bridges at East Liberty Station were boxed-in bridges with no greenery. (For a side-by-side comparison of the prior and current East Liberty Station bridges see their Then and Now post.) These are not the only changes to bridges in this area. In fact, I suggest that East Liberty has seen more bridge turn-over in the last 100 years than any other part of Pittsburgh.
The Penn Avenue and South Highland Avenue Bridges have stayed fairly constant, at least as far as location is concerned. The South Highland Avenue Bridge was rebuilt and redesigned in the 15 years I’ve lived here. While the Spahr Street Pedestrian Bridge is new, the 1923 G. M. Hopkins map above shows that there used to be a pedestrian bridge at this same location. The historical precedent for a pedestrian bridge here may be another factor for why the bridge was located here and not further east where residents have been asking for a pedestrian bridge for years.
The other major bridge changes in this area are the former Ellsworth Avenue and Shady Avenue Bridges that show on the 1923 G. M. Hopkins map. Both of those are long gone. I assume they were casualties of the massive Urban Renewal of the neighborhood that significantly impacted the street grid of the area. The digital archives of Historic Pittsburgh include photos of these former bridges. The Shady Avenue Bridge seems to have been of a similar design to the former South Highland Avenue Bridge. The Ellsworth Avenue Bridge seems to have been of a similar design to the current South Negley Avenue Bridge that is just outside the map frame to the west. One key difference is that cages were added at some point to the South Highland and South Negley Bridges.
The East Liberty Station Pedestrian Bridge wins the 2024 Bridge Madness tournament with 56% of the votes.
Thank you for participating in the 2024 Bridge Madness Tournament. There were several tight contests in this year’s tournament. The tournament featured 16 pedestrian bridges in Pittsburgh. Half passed over railroads and half passed over roads.
From east to west, the bridges that pass over railroads were:
the North Lang Avenue Pedestrian Bridge
the East Liberty Station Pedestrian Bridge
the Spahr Street Pedestrian Bridge
the South Graham Street Pedestrian Bridge
the Melanchton Street Pedestrian Bridge
an abandoned pedestrian bridge in Hazelwood
the South 15th Street Pedestrian Bridge
the South 10th Street Pedestrian Bridge
From east to west, the bridges that pass over roads were:
the Eliza Furnace Trail Bridges over Swinburne Street
the Eliza Furnace Trail Bridge over Bates Street
the Bloomfield Pedestrian Bridge
the Duquesne University Pedestrian Bridge
the Crosstown Blvd Pedestrian Bridge
the Charles J Lieberth Pedestrian Bridge
the Gerst Way Pedestrian Bridge
the Duquesne Incline Pedestrian Bridge
They matched up as follows:
If you’re interested in exploring these bridges yourself, they are located:
One of my readers alerted me to last night’s collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. While I’ve never walked that bridge, since the collapse of Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge, which I have walked, the scope of my blog has expanded to highlight the fragile nature of the infrastructure we rely on daily in the United States (and across the pond). According to the reports coming in and the video of the accident, a loaded cargo liner crashed into a pier of the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing the structure to collapse. The Baltimore Sun (March 26, 2024) and Washington Post (March 26, 2024) articles are my primary sources for learning of the accident.
Unlike Pittsburgh’s disaster which was due to a deteriorated portion of the bridge finally giving way after years of deferred maintenance, no blame has yet been placed on any structural unsoundness of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The ship that ran into it is another story. Apparently, it recently was flagged as having questionable issues in its navigation system. The current understanding is that the ship lost power and control of steering, issued a mayday alert, and crashed into the bridge pier. In the early analysis of what happened, there are questions as to why various things were not handled differently to have prevented the collision. For example:
Why were there not more structures in the water to deflect any ships away from the bridge pier?
Why didn’t the tugboats continue with the ship until it cleared not just the harbor, but the bridge as well?
Why wasn’t the bridge built with redundancies so that even if one of the piers were knocked out, the bridge could still stand?
Much like deferred maintenance (of bridges and ships), I suspect that money is at the root of the reason why not for items one and three above. It may also be a factor in why the tugboats don’t travel farther down the river with the ships.
The City of Baltimore and State of Maryland have declared a state of emergency. Pledges are being made to rebuild the bridge quickly, including President Biden promising the money to rebuild. It may be interesting to compare the rebuilding of the Francis Scott Key Bridge against Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge. While of significantly different scales, both bridges are considered major transportation arteries that the local region cannot afford to be without any longer than absolutely necessary. Will the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild include similar time saving measures of purely utilitarian design and of concurrent design/build phases?
In the 2024 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 pedestrian bridges go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features pedestrian bridges within Pittsburgh that cross over roads or railroads. Below is the Championship contest. Vote for your favorite bridge by noon on Wednesday, March 27, and then return on March 29th to see the winner.
The bridges are divided into two conferences: Pedestrian Bridges over Railroads and Pedestrian Bridges over Roads.
Championship Bridges
East Liberty Station Pedestrian BridgeDuquesne University Pedestrian Bridge
In the 2024 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 pedestrian bridges go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features pedestrian bridges within Pittsburgh that cross over roads or railroads. Below are the brackets for the Final Four. Remember to vote for one bridge in each bracket by noon on Wednesday, March 20, and then return on March 22nd to vote for the Champion.
The bridges are divided into two conferences: Pedestrian Bridges over Railroads and Pedestrian Bridges over Roads.
Pedestrian Bridges over Railroads
East Liberty Station Pedestrian BridgeSpahr Street Pedestrian Bridge
Pedestrian Bridges over Roads
Eliza Furnace Trail over Swinburne StreetDuquesne University Pedestrian Bridge
Pittsburgh’s Charles Anderson Bridge closed to vehicles indefinitely pending restorationPittsburgh’s Swindell Bridge closed to vehicles indefinitely pending restoration
Pittsburgh isn’t alone in being home to bridges on the verge of collapsing. This year marks the 200th anniversary of London’s Hammersmith Bridge, which has been closed to vehicular traffic for five years after cracks threatening the stability of the bridge were discovered. The bridge was temporarily closed to pedestrians and cyclists crossing over and river traffic crossing under, but those restrictions have been lifted. Except cyclists are required to dismount and walk across. (Transport for London: Hammersmith Bridge) Work is slowly being done on the bridge, but there is no estimate for when it will be fully functional again. Part of the delay appears due to the decentralization of bridge ownership in London that puts the burden of costly bridge maintenance and repairs on local councils that don’t have sufficient funds (The Standard, July 5, 2023). Much as I enjoy walking across bridges, I would have second thoughts about walking one where the vibrations caused by a cyclist might increase the damage to the bridge.
In the 2024 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 pedestrian bridges go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features pedestrian bridges within Pittsburgh that cross over roads or railroads. Below are the brackets for the Elite Eight. Remember to vote for one bridge in each bracket by noon on Wednesday, March 13, and then return on March 15th to vote for the Final Four.
The bridges are divided into two conferences: Pedestrian Bridges over Railroads and Pedestrian Bridges over Roads.
Pedestrian Bridges over Railroads
S. 10th Street Pedestrian BridgeEast Liberty Station Pedestrian BridgeSpahr Street Pedestrian BridgeS. Graham Street Pedestrian Bridge
Pedestrian Bridges over Roads
Eliza Furnace Trail over Swinburne StreetEliza Furnace Trail over Bates StreetBloomfield Pedestrian BridgeDuquesne University Pedestrian Bridge
In the 2024 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 pedestrian bridges go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features pedestrian bridges within Pittsburgh that cross over roads or railroads. Below are the brackets for the Sweet Sixteen. Remember to vote for one bridge in each bracket by noon on Wednesday, March 6, and then return on March 8th to vote for the Elite Eight.
The bridges are divided into two conferences: Pedestrian Bridges over Railroads and Pedestrian Bridges over Roads.
Pedestrian Bridges over Railroads
N. Lang Street Pedestrian BridgeS. 10th Street Pedestrian BridgeEast Liberty Station Pedestrian BridgeS. 15th Street Pedestrian BridgeSpahr Street Pedestrian BridgeS. 15th Street Pedestrian BridgeS. Graham Street Pedestrian BridgeMelanchton Street Pedestrian Bridge
Pedestrian Bridges over Roads
Duquesne Incline Pedestrian BridgeEliza Furnace Trail over Swinburne StreetGerst Way Pedestrian BridgeEliza Furnace Trail over Bates StreetCharles J. Lieberth Pedestrian BridgeBloomfield Pedestrian BridgeCrosstown Blvd Pedestrian BridgeDuquesne University Pedestrian Bridge
In the 2024 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 pedestrian bridges go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features pedestrian bridges within Pittsburgh that cross over roads or railroads. 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 Friday and close at noon the following Wednesday. 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: Pedestrian Bridges over Railroads and Pedestrian Bridges over Roads.
Pedestrian Bridges over Railroads
From east to west, the bridges that pass over railroads are:
the North Lang Avenue Pedestrian Bridge
the East Liberty Station Pedestrian Bridge
the Spahr Street Pedestrian Bridge
the South Graham Street Pedestrian Bridge
the Melanchton Street Pedestrian Bridge
an abandoned pedestrian bridge in Hazelwood
the South 15th Street Pedestrian Bridge
the South 10th Street Pedestrian Bridge
Pedestrian Bridges over Roads
From east to west, the bridges that pass over roads are:
the Eliza Furnace Trail Bridges over Swinburne Street
Thirteen months ago, Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge reconstruction was declared finished eleven months after the previous bridge had collapsed. I scoffed at this announcement at the time as the side walk wasn’t yet open and the new bridge was closed again for a month during the summer to “complete all remaining bridge work.” (Mayor’s Press Release, June 8, 2023). However, David McCullough in The Great Bridge points out that there is never a clear completion date for a new bridge. He notes that when the Brooklyn Bridge was “finished:”
There was no one moment, no particular day, when he [Washington Roebling] could have said as much, nor would there be. Bridges did not end that way. There was always something more to finish up, some last detail to attend to. The final touches at Cincinnati, for example, had dragged on for nearly six months after the opening ceremonies and it looked as though the same might happen here. (505)
David McCullough, “The Great Bridge”
The Fern Hollow Bridge, therefore, was simply following the pattern established by other greater bridges. The bridge itself now seems to be fully complete and operational: all the multi-modal options to cross are open, the trail underneath is also open, and people crossing over or passing under can experience the public art installations. However, while the physical infrastructure has been repaired, the human physical and emotional fallout from the collapse continues.
Some of the people injured in the collapse are working with attorneys to seek transparency and a way to move forward following their experience. This fall, a judge ordered the release of documents relating to the bridge and its collapse (TribLive, November 16, 2023; TribLive, November 28, 2023; WPXI, November 28, 2023; WTAE, November 28, 2023; CBS News, November 29, 2023). In December, PennDOT released hundreds of pages of documents related to the collapse (CBS News, December 23, 2023).
News
Below are the news updates on the Fern Hollow Bridge and other bridge maintenance and replacement efforts in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
A year and a half after the City created a Commission on Infrastructure Asset Reporting and Investment, Mayor Gainey finally submitted nominations for the board seats to City Council (WESA, July 18, 2023). Council approved 12 commissioners on July 25, 2023, one commissioner on September 19, 2023, and one commissioner on December 18, 2023. The commission had its first meeting on December 5, 2023, (City of Pittsburgh Tweet, November 28, 2023; WPXI, December 5, 2023) but it hasn’t been added yet to the city’s website listing all Boards and Commissions. Presumably it will be added soon so that the agenda and minutes of the commission will be publicly available the same as all other city commissions. There have been no press leases regarding the long-overdue formation of this commission. I’ve only found the commissioners names by searching the City’s Legislative Center for “Appointment-Requiring Vote.” The approved commissioners are:
Lisa Frank
Zachary Workman
Tyler Watts
Tom Melisko
Patrick Cornell
Greg Bernarding
Eric Setzler
Doris Carson Williams
Darrin Kelley
Councilwoman Erika Strassburger
Chief Darryl Jones
Andy Waple
Samuel Miclot
Michele Miller Beener
The final designs for the rehabilitation of the Charles Anderson Bridge and the Panther Hollow Overpass are nearing completion and bids are expected to be released this month. (Pittsburgh Engage project page)
Pittsburgh’s Swindell Bridge, which closed initially from July to September 2022 due to falling debris, continues to have problems and the city is providing little to no information at this time. The expectation was that repairs over the summer would enable the bridge to fully reopen to traffic. Instead the latest repairs seem to have uncovered more issues. There is no evidence of a plan yet for addressing the situation. (TribLive, July 7, 2023; WPXI, August 7, 2023; Pittsburgh Engage page)
The “complete overhaul” of the South Negley Avenue Bridge announced in 2022 (CBS, February 25, 2022) has not been mentioned since and there is no project page for it to indicate that plans are in the works for it. The obvious deterioration on this bridge and lack of movement on repairs leaves the way open for speculation on whether we will have another bridge disaster in our city sooner rather than later.
Construction began on the 30th Street Bridge rehabilitation in April 2023 and finished in August. (WPXI, August 21, 2023; Pittsburgh Engage page)
Rehabilitation on the Swinburne Bridge remains on pause until after the Charles Anderson Bridge is reopened as the Swinburne Bridge is part of the detour route. (Pittsburgh Engage page)
Preliminary engineering is ongoing for the rehabilitation of the 28th Street Bridge. (Pittsburgh Engage page)
Temporary repairs, including protection from falling debris, were done on the California Avenue Bridge. Preliminary engineering is scheduled to start this year. Residents remain concerned about the falling debris and the condition of the bridge. This bridge is another possible candidate for the next bridge disaster in the city. (CBS, January 2, 2023; WPXI, June 29, 2023; WPXI, December 5, 2023; TribLive, September 8, 2023; Pittsburgh Engage page)
Photos: Other Bridges
Historic Pittsburgh Bridge Disasters
According to Bob Regan’s 2006 book “The Bridges of Pittsburgh,” Pittsburgh is no stranger to bridge disasters:
1845 – The original Smithfield Street Bridge burned down
1851 – The 16th Street Bridge burned down
1865 – Two spans of the 16th Street Bridge was washed away in a flood
late 1880s – The 6th Street/St. Clair Street Bridge burned down
1903 – The Wabash Bridge collapsed during construction
1918 – The 16th Street Bridge burned down (again)
1921 – The 30th Street Bridge burned down
1927 – The Mount Washington Roadway Bridge collapsed during construction
Map of bridges discussed in the Bridge Collapse series:
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