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.
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
Hazelwood is a neighborhood about 4 miles down the Monongahela River from downtown Pittsburgh. It is currently experiencing significant change. Between Hazelwood’s main street (2nd Avenue) and the Monongahela River is a 178-acre site of the former Jones and Laughlin Steel Company. Most of the structures from the mill were demolished, leaving a large brownfield. In 2002, the site was purchased for redevelopment by Almono LP (at the time, an entity made up of four Pittsburgh foundations). After years of planning and a rebranding of the site as Hazelwood Green, a series of public streets and the first building opened for use in 2019. Construction is underway for more buildings and a public plaza.
During the planning and preparation stages, a question arose as to the effects of this redevelopment on the surrounding neighborhood. Hazelwood is one of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods that has experienced high vacancy rates and subsequent demolition in its residential and business districts. While the building stock of the neighborhood has experienced a long downward trend, the community of people is strong. Only time will tell if the redevelopment of Hazelwood Green will connect with this community or if Hazelwood Green will become and isolated spot of prosperity for others.
Previously, I divided the approach to Keeping an Eye on Hazelwood into three series, Keeping an Eye on Hazelwood Green, Keeping an Eye on Hazelwood Flats, and Keeping an Eye on Hazelwood Slope. For this post and the 2023 post, I will be combining these into a single series. The goal of this series is to periodically document the physical changes to the former steel mill site and to the surrounding neighborhood.
The Photos
Due to a full schedule in 2022, I was not able to take any photographs of the neighborhood this year.
Hazelwood in the News
The big news of 2022 was the announcement of the plan for the current nonprofit owner (Almono LP) of Hazelwood Green to turn over management and eventually ownership of the site to a New York-based, for-profit development firm. (Pittsburgh Business Times, February 25, 2022, article 1 and article 2)
At the end of 2021, the plan and zoning regulations governing the redevelopment of Hazelwood Green was amended to respond to the current market. One of the changes was to allow more flexibility for temporary parking lots that the Planning Commission placed a condition that such parking lots must expire after 40 years. (Planning Commission agenda, Planning Commission minutes, City Council legislation page)
Public Source (October 27, 2021) discussed this amendment as well as community efforts to bring a grocery store to the neighborhood, to establish and maintain affordable housing, and to maintain and strengthen the ecosystem created by the greenway on the hill overlooking Hazelwood Green.
Also, toward the end of 2021, the One Valley innovation hub moved into the renovated Roundhouse (LinkedIn, July 20, 2021) and the University of Pittsburgh announced plans to build BioForge, a biomanufacturing facility, with funds from the Richard King Mellon Foundation (Pittsburgh Business Times, November 17, 2021, articles on funding and Pitt’s plans)
The City of Pittsburgh has a project page to track the restoration of the Hazelwood Greenway.
The Lower Hill is a notorious site in Pittsburgh, a scar on the city from the height of Urban Renewal. A vibrant (but poor and predominately Black) neighborhood was demolished in the 1950s so the City could build a cultural mecca centered on a Civic Arena, most of which ended up not being built and was left as parking lots.
Now that the arena has been demolished and replaced adjacent to the former location, the Penguins hockey team has the development rights to rebuild the Lower Hill, stitching back together the fabric of the city and reconnecting the remainder of the Hill District neighborhoods with downtown.
However, grand language describing the wonderful benefits to a city are part and parcel of any major development project, including the 1950’s Urban Renewal of the Lower Hill. Fifty years later, the Urban Renewal of the Lower Hill is rarely, if ever described as a good thing. In fact the current redevelopment is sometimes described as undoing the mistakes of that project. However, can the negative financial, social, and emotional repercussions of the original demolition and decades of disconnect be undone simply by reinstating (most of) the former street grid?
This blog post is part of an on-going photographic series to watch the redevelopment of the Lower Hill. Periodically, approximately once every six months, I return to the site to take new photographs. In addition, I include links to articles about the project that I’ve encountered since the previous post in the series. At the end of the post, there are links to all the previous posts in the series.
What’s New
While still primarily a sea of parked cars, there have been a few changes on the site:
After months of the FNB Tower seemingly stuck at 5 or so stories despite activity on the site, the building shot up to what I assume is its full height.
There was some sidewalk restructuring on the older sections – though as that’s happening around the city, it may not indicate anything special in regards to the redevelopment of the Lower Hill.
The construction fencing now has a temporary art installation by a non-profit that based in the Hill District and focused on connecting youth with arts.
The hedges along Centre Ave were noticeably taller than the last time I photographed them.
Other than that, the site remains much the same. But there has been LOTS of news about it and other developments in the Hill District (see below).
Photos
Lower Hill in the News
Next Pittsburgh named the Lower Hill redevelopment as one of the top 8 developments to watch in Pittsburgh in 2023 (January 11, 2023). Throughout the year, there have been conversations on the development opportunities happening and projected in the Lower Hill and beyond (Pittsburgh Business Times, June 7, 2023; Pittsburgh Business Times, June 8, 2023; Pittsburgh Business Times, June 13, 2023).
The question of how to equitably develop the Lower Hill and other areas of the city that have long seen disinvestment is a hot topic this year (Public Source, January 23, 2023). The community continues to express concern about the deals and process in the redevelopment of the Lower Hill (Next Pittsburgh, January 25, 2023; Public Source, April 22, 2023; Pittsburgh Business Times, May 15, 2023; City Paper, May 16, 2023). The proposed concert venue that is one of the subprojects generating concern in the community moved forward (Pittsburgh Business Times, January 10, 2023; Public Source, January 10, 2023; Public Source, January 24, 2023; Pittsburgh Business Times, May 11, 2023; Public Source, May 11, 2023).
A project website dedicated to construction bidding opportunities shows the most recent bid opportunity was for the controversial concert venue.
Bethel AME is Pittsburgh’s oldest Black congregation. They were one of the organizations forced out of the Lower Hill neighborhood to make way for what became the Civic Arena and a sea of parking lots. They are now seeking reparations and the ability to return to the neighborhood (Public Source, April 14, 2023). An agreement between Bethel AME and the Penguins was reached (Public Source, April 14, 2023; Pittsburgh Business Times, April 14, 2023).
The funding announced last year for the redevelopment of the Housing Authority’s Bedford Dwelling apartments has been augmented by an additional $50 million grant (Pittsburgh Business Times, July 21, 2023; Public Source, July 21, 2023; Pittsburgh Business Times, July 28, 2023) and Planning Commission approval of the plans (Pittsburgh Business Times, July 11, 2023; Public Source, July 25, 2023). The Pittsburgh Business Times also ran a profile of Michele Beener (May 11, 2023), who helped with the grant application for Bedford Dwellings that received funding in 2022.
The New Granada Theater is a historic building with strong ties to the cultural wealth of the Hill District about 0.5 miles from the Lower Hill. The community has put in decades of advocacy, planning, fundraising, and more around redeveloping this building in a meaningful way. Fruits of their labors are starting to ripen with the groundbreaking for new life for the theater (Pittsburgh Business Times, May 25, 2023; Post-Gazette, May 26, 2023) and a ribbon cutting for a new affordable housing development adjacent to the theater (Post-Gazette, September 1, 2023).
The grocery store that the Hill District advocated for many years, was built, and closed after a few years in business is getting new life. A local multi-ethnic market purchased the site earlier this year (Pittsburgh Business Times, April 13, 2023; Public Source, April 13, 2023).
For more information on the community that lives and has lived in the Hill District, Ralph Proctor Jr. published a book describing his memories and experience living in the Hill District (Next Pittsburgh, June 20, 2023) and Next Pittsburgh published an article on the influence of the Burke family on the bar and entertainment scene in the Lower Hill from the 1920s to 1960s (January 19, 2023).
The Lower Hill is a notorious site in Pittsburgh, a scar on the city from the height of Urban Renewal. A vibrant (but poor and predominately Black) neighborhood was demolished in the 1950s so the City could build a cultural mecca centered on a Civic Arena, most of which ended up not being built and was left as parking lots.
Now that the arena has been demolished and replaced adjacent to the former location, the Penguins hockey team has the development rights to rebuild the Lower Hill, stitching back together the fabric of the city and reconnecting the remainder of the Hill District neighborhoods with downtown.
However, grand language describing the wonderful benefits to a city are part and parcel of any major development project, including the 1950’s Urban Renewal of the Lower Hill. Fifty years later, the Urban Renewal of the Lower Hill is rarely, if ever described as a good thing. In fact the current redevelopment is sometimes described as undoing the mistakes of that project. However, can the negative financial, social, and emotional repercussions of the original demolition and decades of disconnect be undone simply by reinstating (most of) the former street grid?
This blog post is part of an on-going photographic series to watch the redevelopment of the Lower Hill. Periodically, at least once a year, I return to the site to take new photographs. In addition, I include links to articles about the project that I’ve encountered since the previous post in the series. At the end of the post, there are links to all the previous posts in the series.
What’s New
In 2022, construction of the FNB Tower progressed. Not much else changed on the ground, but the news shared some of the negotiations and deals being made to move the rest of the site forward.
Photos
Lower Hill in the News
Next Pittsburgh named the Lower Hill redevelopment as one of the top 10 developments to watch in Pittsburgh in 2022 (January 3, 2022).
Bethel AME, Pittsburgh’s Oldest Black Church (Public Source, January 31, 2022) who’s building was taken through eminent domain and demolished in the 1950s to build the Civic Arena, has been in talks with the Penguins about reparations as part of the redevelopment of the Lower Hill (Next Pittsburgh, October 3, 2022). In October 2022, it appeared a preliminary agreement had been reached (Public Source, October 17, 2022; Next Pittsburgh, October 17, 2022), but in November the talks stalled according to Bethel AME (City Paper, November 18, 2022).
The plans for “Block E” were presented to the Planning Commission in the first of two hearings (Planning Commission Agenda & Application; Public Source, December 13, 2022; Pittsburgh Business Times, December 13, 2022). In the months prior to this hearing, this plan, which is a revision from the original Preliminary Land Development Plan, was presented to the community amid concerns about process and the Community Collaborative Implementation Plan (Pittsburgh Business Times, October 14, 2022).
Funding announcements for the greater Hill District included infrastructure funding from a federal RAISE Grant (City Paper, August 11, 2022) and Housing Authority funds allocated toward the redevelopment of the Bedford Dwelling apartments along with the intention to apply for a Choice Neighborhoods grant (Public Source, December 15, 2022).
A car crashed into Freedom Corner damaging the monument on the site (City Paper, August 3, 2022). This is an important neighborhood location for many social justice actions including as a marker at the demarcation line of the redevelopment of the Lower Hill, which did not spread beyond that line due to community resistance.
In other Hill District development new, the redevelopment of the former Miller School into apartments was moving forward (Pittsburgh Business Times, November 30, 2022).
urbantraipsing 