The Kinzua Bridge or the Kinzua Viaduct (, ) was a
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
trestle
ATLAS-I (Air Force Weapons Lab Transmission-Line Aircraft Simulator), better known as Trestle, was a unique electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generation and testing apparatus built between 1972 and 1980 during the Cold War at Sandia National Laborato ...
that spanned
Kinzua Creek in
McKean County in the U.S. state of
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. The bridge was tall and long. Most of its structure collapsed during a tornado in July 2003.
Billed as the "
Eighth Wonder of the World
Eighth Wonder of the World is an unofficial title sometimes given to new buildings, structures, projects, designs or even people that are deemed to be comparable to the seven Wonders of the World.
Candidates for the Eighth Wonder of the World
...
", the
wrought iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...
original 1882 structure held the record for the tallest railroad bridge in the world for two years. In 1900, the bridge was dismantled and simultaneously rebuilt out of steel to allow it to accommodate heavier trains. It stayed in commercial service until 1959, when it was sold to a salvage company. In 1963 the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryl ...
purchased the bridge as the centerpiece of a state park.
Restoration of the bridge began in 2002, but before it was finished a
tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
struck the bridge in 2003, causing a large portion of the bridge to collapse. Corroded anchor bolts holding the bridge to its foundations failed, contributing to the collapse.
Before its collapse, the Kinzua Bridge was ranked as the fourth-tallest railway bridge in the United States.
It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1977 and as a
National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
__NOTOC__
The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United State ...
by the
American Society of Civil Engineers
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
in 1982. The ruins of the Kinzua Bridge are in
Kinzua Bridge State Park
Kinzua Bridge State Park is a Pennsylvania state park near Mount Jewett, in Hamlin and Keating Townships, McKean County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park lies between U.S. Route 6 and Pennsylvania Route 59, along State Route 301 ...
off
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...
near the
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
of
Mount Jewett, Pennsylvania
Mount Jewett is a borough in McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 849 at the 2020 census. The students of the borough attend school in the Kane Area School District, even though the borough is surrounded by Hamlin Town ...
.
Original construction and service
![Kinzuabridgeold3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Kinzuabridgeold3.jpg)
In 1882,
Thomas L. Kane
Thomas Leiper Kane (January 27, 1822 – December 26, 1883) was an American attorney, abolitionist, philanthropist, and military officer who was influential in the western migration of the Latter-day Saint movement and served as a Union Army colon ...
, president of the
New York, Lake Erie and Western Railway
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Erie ...
(NYLE&W), was faced with the challenge of building a
branch line
A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line.
Industrial spur
An industri ...
off the
main line
Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to:
Transportation
Railway
* Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system
* Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...
in Pennsylvania, from
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
south to the coalfields in
Elk County.
The fastest way to do so was to build a bridge across the
Kinzua Valley. The only other alternative would have been to lay an additional of track over rough terrain.
When built, the bridge was larger than any ever attempted and over twice as large as the largest similar structure at the time, the
Portage Bridge
The Portage Bridge (french: Pont du Portage) crosses the Ottawa River just down-river from the Chaudière Bridge, joining the communities of Gatineau, Quebec and Ottawa, Ontario. It links Laurier Street and Alexandre-Taché Boulevard in the ...
over the
Genesee River
The Genesee River is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York in the United States.
The river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills and still provides h ...
in
western New York
Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY in ...
.
The first Kinzua Bridge was built by a crew of 40 from of
wrought iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...
in just 94 working days, between May 10 and August 29, 1882.
The reason for the short construction time was that
scaffolding
Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely use ...
was not used in the bridge's construction; instead a
gin pole
A gin pole is a supported pole that uses a pulley or block and tackle on its upper end to lift loads. The lower end is braced or set in a shallow hole and positioned so the upper end lies above the object to be lifted. The pole (also known as a ...
was used to build the first tower, then a traveling crane was built atop it and used in building the second tower.
The process was then repeated across all 20 towers.
The bridge was designed by the engineer
Octave Chanute
Octave Chanute (February 18, 1832 – November 23, 1910) was a French-American civil engineer and aviation pioneer. He provided many budding enthusiasts, including the Wright brothers, with help and advice, and helped to publicize their flying ...
and was built by the
Phoenix Iron Works, which specialized in producing patented, hollow iron tubes called "Phoenix columns".
Because of the design of these columns, it was often mistakenly believed that the bridge had been built out of wooden poles.
The bridge's 110
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
masonry piers were quarried from the hillside used for the foundation of the bridge.
The tallest tower had a base that was wide.
The bridge was designed to support a load of ,
and was estimated to cost between $167,000 and $275,000.
On completion, the bridge was the tallest railroad bridge in the world and was advertised as the "Eighth Wonder of the World".
Six of the bridge's 20 towers were taller than the
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...
.
Excursion trains from as far away as
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
, and
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
would come just to cross the Kinzua Bridge,
which held the height record until the
Garabit viaduct
The Garabit viaduct (french: viaduc de Garabit) is a railway arch bridge spanning the Truyère, near Ruynes-en-Margeride, Cantal, France, in the mountainous Massif Central region.
The bridge was constructed between 1882 and 1884 by Gustave Eiffel, ...
, tall, was completed in France in 1884.
Trains crossing the bridge were restricted to a speed of because the locomotive, and sometimes the wind, caused the bridge to vibrate.
People sometimes visited the bridge in hopes of finding the loot of a
bank robber
Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tell ...
, who supposedly hid $40,000 in gold and currency under or near it.
Reconstruction and service
By 1893, the NYLE&W had gone bankrupt and was merged with the
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Erie ...
, which became the owner of the bridge.
By the start of the 20th century, locomotives were almost 85 percent heavier and the iron bridge could no longer safely carry trains.
The last traffic crossed the old bridge on May 14, 1900, and removal of the old iron began on May 24.
The new bridge was designed by C.R. Grimm and was built by the Elmira Bridge Company out of of steel, at a cost of $275,000.
Construction began on May 26, starting from both ends of the old bridge. A crew of between 100 and 150 worked 10-hour days for almost four months to complete the new steel frame. Two
Howe truss
A Howe truss is a truss bridge consisting of chords, verticals, and diagonals whose vertical members are in tension and whose diagonal members are in compression. The Howe truss was invented by William Howe in 1840, and was widely used as a bridg ...
"timber travelers", each long and deep, were used to build the towers. Each "traveler" was supported by a pair of the original wrought-iron towers, separated by the one that was to be replaced. After the middle tower was demolished and a new steel one built in its place, the traveler was moved down the line by one tower and the process was repeated. Construction of each new tower and the spans adjoining it took one week to complete. The bolts used to hold the towers to the anchor blocks were reused from the first bridge, which would eventually play a major role in the bridge's demise. Grimm, the designer of the bridge, later admitted that the bolts should have been replaced.
The Kinzua Viaduct reopened to traffic on September 25, 1900. The new bridge was able to safely accommodate Erie's heavy 2-8-2 Mikados. The Erie Railroad maintained a station at the Kinzua Viaduct. Constructed between 1911 and 1916,
the station was not manned by an agent.
The station was closed sometime between 1923 and 1927.
![Kinzuabridge1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Kinzuabridge1.jpg)
Train crews would sometimes play a trick on a
brakeman
A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The earliest known use of the term to describe this occupation occurred in 1833. The advent of through brakes, ...
on his first journey on the line. When the train was a short distance from the bridge, the crew would send the brakeman over the rooftops of the cars to check on a small supposed problem. As the train crossed the bridge, the rookie "suddenly found himself terrified, staring down from the roof of a rocking boxcar".
Even after being reconstructed, the bridge still had a speed limit of . As the bridge aged, heavy trains pulled by two steam locomotives had to stop so the engines could cross the bridge one at a time.
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
s were lighter and did not face that limit; the bridge was last crossed by a steam locomotive on October 5, 1950.
The Erie Railroad obtained
trackage rights
Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies.
Operating
Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may con ...
on the nearby
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...
(B&O) line in the late 1950s, allowing it to bypass the aging Kinzua Bridge. Regular commercial service ended on June 21, 1959, and the Erie sold the bridge to the Kovalchick Salvage Company of
Indiana, Pennsylvania
Indiana is a borough in and the county seat of Indiana County in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The population was 13,564 at the 2020 census, and since 2013 has been part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. After being a long time par ...
, for $76,000.
The bridge was reopened for one day in October 1959 when a wreck on the B&O line forced trains to be rerouted across it.
According to the
American Society of Civil Engineers
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
, the Kinzua Bridge "was a critical structure in facilitating the transport of coal from Northwestern Pennsylvania to the Eastern Great Lakes region, and is credited with causing an increase in coal mining that led to significant economic growth."
Creation of state park
![Kinzua Bridge State Park 003](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Kinzua_Bridge_State_Park_003.jpg)
Nick Kovalchick, head of the Kovalchick Salvage Company, which then owned the bridge, was reluctant to dismantle it. On seeing it for the first time he is supposed to have said "There will never be another bridge like this."
Kovalchick worked with local groups who wanted to save the structure, and
Pennsylvania Governor
The governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the head of state and head of government of the U.S. state, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as commander-in-chief of the Commonwealth's military forces.
The governor has a duty to enforc ...
William Scranton
William Warren Scranton (July 19, 1917 – July 28, 2013) was an American Republican Party politician and diplomat. Scranton served as the 38th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967, and as United States Ambassador to the United Nations f ...
signed a bill into law on August 12, 1963, to purchase the bridge and nearby land for $50,000 and create Kinzua Bridge State Park.
The deed for the park's was recorded on January 20, 1965, and the park was opened to the public in 1970.
![2019 09 ASCE NHCEL Pennsylvania- Kinzua Bridge ASCE plaque](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/2019_09_ASCE_NHCEL_Pennsylvania-_Kinzua_Bridge_ASCE_plaque.png)
An access road to the park was built in 1974, and new facilities there included a parking lot, drinking water and toilets, and installation of a fence on the bridge deck.
On July 5, 1975, there was an official
ribbon cutting
An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event. ceremony for the park, which "was and is unique in the park system" since "its centerpiece is a man-made structure".
The bridge was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on August 29, 1977, and was named to the
National Register of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks by the
American Society of Civil Engineers
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
on June 26, 1982.
The
Knox and Kane Railroad
The Knox and Kane Railroad (K&K) was a short-line railroad in Pennsylvania that operated between Knox, in Clarion County, to Kane and then on to Mount Jewett, in McKean County.
History
Early years
The track and right of way was bought fr ...
(KKRR) operated
sightseeing
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...
trips from
Kane through the
Allegheny National Forest
The Allegheny National Forest is a National Forest in Northwestern Pennsylvania, about 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The forest covers of land. Within the forest is Kinzua Dam, which impounds the Allegheny River to form Allegheny Reservoir ...
and over the Kinzua Bridge from 1987 until the bridge was closed in 2002.
In 1988 it operated the longest steam train excursion in the United States, a round trip to the bridge from the village of
Marienville in
Forest County, with a stop in Kane. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described being on the bridge as "more akin to ballooning than railroading" and noted "You stare straight out with nothing between you and an immense sea of verdure a hundred yards
1 mbelow." The railroad still operated excursions through the forest and stopped at the bridge's western approach until October 2004.
As of 2009, Kinzua Bridge State Park is a
Pennsylvania state park surrounding the bridge and the Kinzua Valley. The park is located off of
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...
north of Mount Jewett in
Hamlin Hamlin may refer to:
Places
* Hamlin, Iowa, a city
* Hamlin, Kansas, a city
* Hamlin, Kentucky, a town
* Hamlin, Maine, a town
* Hamlin, Michigan, a former community
* Hamlin, New York, a town
** Hamlin (CDP), New York, a census-designated pl ...
and
Keating Townships. A scenic
overlook
A scenic viewpoint – also called an observation point, viewpoint, viewing point, vista point, lookout, scenic overlook,These terms are more commonly used in North America. etc. – is an elevated location where people can view scenery (often w ...
within the park allows views of the fallen bridge and of the valley, and is also a prime location to view the
fall foliage
Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normal green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, various shades of yellow, orange, red, purple, and brown. The phenomenon i ...
in mid-October. The park has a shaded
picnic
A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...
area with a centrally-located modern
restroom.
Before the bridge's collapse, visitors were allowed on or under the bridge and hiking was allowed in the valley around the bridge.
In September 2002 the bridge was closed even to pedestrian traffic.
About of Kinzua Bridge State Park are open to hunting. Common game species are
turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
and
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
.
Bridge collapse
![July 21 2003 Pennsylvania mesocyclone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/July_21_2003_Pennsylvania_mesocyclone.gif)
Since 2002, the Kinzua Bridge had been closed to all "recreational pedestrian and railroad usage" after it was determined that the structure was at risk to high winds.
Engineers had determined that during high winds, the bridge's
center of gravity
In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weight function, weighted relative position (vector), position of the distributed mass sums to zero. Thi ...
could shift, putting weight onto only one side of the bridge and causing it to
fail
Failure is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success. The criteria for failure depends on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One ...
.
An
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
-based bridge construction and repair company had started work on restoring the Kinzua Bridge in February 2003.
On July 21, 2003, construction workers had packed up and were starting to leave for the day when a storm arrived. A
tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
spawned by the storm struck the Kinzua Bridge, snapping and uprooting nearby trees, as well as causing 11 of the 20 bridge towers to collapse. There were no deaths or injuries. The tornado was produced by a
mesoscale convective system
A mesoscale convective system (MCS) is a complex of thunderstorms that becomes organized on a scale larger than the individual thunderstorms but smaller than extratropical cyclones, and normally persists for several hours or more. A mesoscale con ...
(MCS), a complex of strong thunderstorms, that had formed over an area that included eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, western New York, and southern
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. The MCS traveled east at around . As the MCS crossed northwestern Pennsylvania, it formed into a distinctive
comma
The comma is a punctuation mark that appears in several variants in different languages. It has the same shape as an apostrophe or single closing quotation mark () in many typefaces, but it differs from them in being placed on the baseline ...
shape. The northern portion of the MCS contained a long-lived
mesocyclone
A mesocyclone is a meso-gamma mesoscale (or storm scale) region of rotation (vortex), typically around in diameter, most often noticed on radar within thunderstorms. In the northern hemisphere it is usually located in the right rear flank (back ...
, a thunderstorm with a rotating updraft that is often conducive to tornados.
At approximately 15:20
EDT (19:20
UTC), the tornado touched down in Kinzua Bridge State Park, from the Kinzua Bridge. The tornado, classified as F1 on the
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is determ ...
, passed by the bridge and continued another before it lifted. It touched down again from
Smethport
Smethport is a borough and county seat of McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. The mayor is Wayne V. Foltz. The population was 1,430 at the 2020 census. Smethport is part of the '' Bradford, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area''. Smethport, h ...
and traveled another before finally dissipating. It was estimated to have been wide and it left a path long. The same storm also spawned an F3 tornado in nearby
Potter County.
When the tornado touched down, the winds had increased to at least and were coming from the east, perpendicular to the bridge, which ran north–south. An investigation determined that Towers 10 and 11 had collapsed first, in a westerly direction.
Meanwhile, Towers 12 through 14 had actually been picked up off their foundations, moved slightly to the northwest and set back down intact and upright, held together by only the railroad tracks on the bridge. Next, towers four through nine collapsed to the west, twisting clockwise, as the tornado started to move northward.
As it moved north, inflow winds came in from the south and caused Towers 12, 13, and 14 to finally collapse towards the north, twisting counterclockwise.
The failures were caused by the badly-rusted iron base bolts holding the bases of the towers to concrete anchor blocks embedded into the ground.
An investigation determined that the tornado had a wind speed of at least , which applied an estimated of lateral force against the bridge.
The investigation also hypothesized that the whole structure oscillated laterally four to five times before
fatigue
Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...
started to cause the base bolts to fail. The towers fell intact in sections and suffered damage upon impact with the ground. The century-old bridge was destroyed in less than 30 seconds.
Aftermath
![Destroyed_Side_of_the_Kinzua_Bridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Destroyed_Side_of_the_Kinzua_Bridge.jpg)
The state decided not to rebuild the Kinzua Bridge, which would have cost an estimated $45 million. Instead, it was proposed that the ruins be used as a visitor attraction to show the forces of nature at work.
Kinzua Bridge State Park had attracted 215,000 visitors annually before the bridge collapsed, and was chosen by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Parks for its list of "Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks". The viaduct and its collapse were featured in the
History Channel
History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
's ''
Life After People
''Life After People'' is a television series on which scientists, mechanical engineers, and other experts speculate about what might become of planet Earth if humanity suddenly disappeared. The featured experts also talk about the impact of hu ...
'' as an example of how corrosion and high winds would eventually lead to the collapse of any steel structure. The bridge was removed from the National Register of Historic Places on July 21, 2004.
The
Knox and Kane Railroad
The Knox and Kane Railroad (K&K) was a short-line railroad in Pennsylvania that operated between Knox, in Clarion County, to Kane and then on to Mount Jewett, in McKean County.
History
Early years
The track and right of way was bought fr ...
was forced to suspend operations in October 2004 after a 75 percent decline in the number of passengers, possibly brought about by the collapse of the Kinzua Bridge.
The
Kovalchick Corporation bought the Knox and Kane's tracks and all other property owned by the railroad, including the locomotives and
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...
. The Kovalchick Corporation also owns the
East Broad Top Railroad
The East Broad Top Railroad (EBT) is a narrow gauge historic and heritage railroad headquartered in Rockhill Furnace, Pennsylvania.
Operating from 1871 to 1956, it is one of the nation's oldest and best-preserved narrow-gauge railroads ...
and was the company that owned the Kinzua Bridge before selling it to the state in 1963.
The company disclosed plans in 2008 to remove the tracks and sell them for
scrap
Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...
. The
right-of-way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
would then be used to establish a
rail trail
A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...
.
Sky Walk
The state of Pennsylvania reimagined the Kinzua State Park as one anchored by a "sky walk" viewing platform and network of hiking trails. It released $700,000 to design repairs on the remaining towers and plan development of the new park facilities in June 2005. In late 2005, the
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), established on July 1, 1995, is the agency in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania responsible for maintaining and preserving the state's 124 state parks and 20 state forests; pr ...
(DCNR) put forward an $8 million proposal for a new
observation deck
An observation deck, observation platform, or viewing platform is an elevated sightseeing platform usually situated upon a tall architectural structure, such as a skyscraper or observation tower. Observation decks are sometimes enclosed ...
and visitors' center, with plans to allow access to the bridge and a hiking trail giving views of the fallen towers.
The Kinzua Sky Walk was opened on September 15, 2011, in a
ribbon-cutting ceremony
An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event. . The Sky Walk consists of a pedestrian walkway to an observation deck with a glass floor at the end of the bridge that allows views of the bridge and the valley directly below. The walkway cost $4.3 million to construct, but is estimated to bring in $11.5 million in tourism revenue for the region.
See also
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Tornadoes of 2003
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2003. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Bangladesh, and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right condition ...
References
Sources
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External links
Kinzua Railway ViaductHistoric Civil landmark at the
American Society of Civil Engineers
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
site
"Collapse at Kinzua"(
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
)
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{{Jamestown New York Regional Attractions
1882 establishments in Pennsylvania
Bridges completed in 1882
Transportation buildings and structures in McKean County, Pennsylvania
Demolished buildings and structures in Pennsylvania
Erie Railroad bridges
Former railway bridges in the United States
Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks
Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania
Railroad bridges in Pennsylvania
Towers in Pennsylvania
Viaducts in the United States
Steel bridges in the United States
Trestle bridges in the United States