__NOTOC__ Rachel Carson Bridge, also known as the Ninth Street Bridge, spans the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into ...

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States. The total length is including the main span and two side spans, or including the approaches. The total width of the deck is , including the roadway plus two sidewalks outside the compressive plate girder. Whereas the roadway formerly carried two vehicle lanes and two streetcar tracks, it was changed to carry four wide vehicle lanes. The 2019-2020 refurbishment reduced the lanes to three. Named for the naturalist and author Rachel Carson, a Pittsburgh native, it is one of three parallel bridges called the Three Sisters, the others being the

Roberto Clemente Bridge The Roberto Clemente Bridge, also known as the Sixth Street Bridge, spans the Allegheny River in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. History First bridge The original bridge at the site was a wooden covered bridge with six spans, ...

and the

Andy Warhol Bridge Andy Warhol Bridge, also known as the Seventh Street Bridge, spans the Allegheny River in Downtown Pittsburgh. It is the only bridge in the United States named for a visual artist. It was opened at a cost of $1.5 million on June 17, 1926, in a ...

. The Three Sisters are self-anchored suspension bridges and are significant because they are the only trio of nearly identical bridges—as well as the first self-anchored suspension spans—built in the United States.

History

The bridge was dedicated and opened at a noon ceremony with Commissioner Babcock, Mayor Kline, and city council members including Herron and McArdle. The cost of construction was $1.46 million or $ in terms. The bridge was renamed on

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...

, April 22, 2006, after years of lobbying by Esther Barazzone, president of Chatham University, the alma mater of the renowned environmentalist. Carson was born in 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania, in a farmhouse up the Allegheny River, now the

Rachel Carson Homestead The Rachel Carson Homestead is a National Register of Historic Places site that is located in Springdale, Pennsylvania, United States, eighteen miles northeast of Pittsburgh and near the Allegheny River. History The original four-room farmho ...

. On February 11, 2019 the bridge was closed to vehicles and pedestrians for a comprehensive rehabilitation project. The bridge was expected to remain closed until at least June 2020. Traffic was detoured over either the

or the

, both of which run parallel and are less than 1/2 mile away from the Rachel Carson Bridge. The bridge reopened in November 2020 after the completion of a $23.3 million rehabilitation project. It was reconfigured from four lanes to three with the direction of the middle lane depending on time of day.

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External links

* *
entry
at pghbridges.com
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at BridgeMeister.com {{NRHP bridges

Carson Carson may refer to: People *Carson (surname), people with the surname *Carson (given name), people with the given name Places ;In the United States * Carson, California, a city * Carson Township, Fayette County, Illinois *Carson, Iowa, a city * ...

Bridges completed in 1926 Bridges over the Allegheny River Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Bridge Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks Suspension bridges in Pennsylvania Self-anchored suspension bridges Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania 1926 establishments in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh

History

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References

External links