The Brownsville Bridge, also known as the Intercounty Bridge and the West Brownsville Bridge (most often heard in the high counties east of the river), is a

truss bridge 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 ...

that carries vehicular traffic across the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in North Cen ...

between

Brownsville, Pennsylvania Brownsville is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, first settled in 1785 as the site of a trading post a few years after the Sullivan Expedition, defeat of the Iroquois enabled a post-Revolutionary war ...

and

West Brownsville, Pennsylvania West Brownsville is a former important transportation nexus and a present-day borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 972 at the 2020 census. Culturally, by post ...

. Since the opening of the

Lane Bane Bridge The Lane Bane Bridge is a truss bridge that carries vehicular traffic across the Monongahela River between Brownsville, Pennsylvania and West Brownsville, Pennsylvania. The high level bridge was completed in November 1962 and was originally desig ...

and highway project to carry much of the intercounty through traffic away from the main streets of downtown Brownsville in the early 1960s, another commonly heard name is Old Brownsville Bridge for the four high level

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

The West Brownsville-Brownsville Bridge was completed in 1914 to replace an 1831 wooden structure that was ill-suited for the vehicular traffic that the

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the Federal Government of the United States, federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Pot ...

was beginning to carry, as motorized vehicle traffic began replacing

animal power A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for tr ...

ed transportation technologies. The famous federal route has crossed the river at this point since its inception, with ferry service in the early nineteenth century. In 1960, the

was constructed just downstream and U.S. Route 40 was moved to the new high-level structure. Currently, the route serves local traffic and is meant to tie together the interconnected towns on each bank. It is designated as a historic bridge by the

Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation is a Non-profit organization, non-profit educational institution in Washington, Pennsylvania. Its purpose is to encourage and assist the preservation of historic structures in Washington County, Pen ...

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National Register nomination form National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

{{NRHP bridges Bridges over the Monongahela River Bridges in Fayette County, Pennsylvania Bridges in Washington County, Pennsylvania Steel bridges in the United States Bridges completed in 1913 Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania 1913 establishments in Pennsylvania Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Fayette County, Pennsylvania History of Washington County, Pennsylvania History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania Pratt truss bridges in the United States

See also

References

External links