The Smithton High-Level Bridge is a structure that crosses the

Youghiogheny River The Youghiogheny River , or the Yough (pronounced Yok ) for short, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Monongahela River in the U.S. s ...

between South Huntingdon Township and Rostraver Township. The bridge was opened in 1956 as one of the last links in the replacement of the old alignment of Pennsylvania Route 71 with a new four-lane freeway between

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

and the

Pennsylvania Turnpike The Pennsylvania Turnpike (Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike) is a toll highway operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A controlled-access highway, it runs for across the state. The turnpike's we ...

. During the same year of the bridge's completion, it was announced that the highway would become part of

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...

; it took on this designation in 1964 after the completion of freeway stretches in neighboring

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

linked PA 71 to a similar freeway in

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 ...

. Part of a busy truck route, the bridge is part of a highway that has been plagued by surface problems. In 1989, a crack in the superstructure, the result of a 35-year-old construction error, forced the closure of the bridge for five days, stranding truckers. The bridge was rehabilitated in 2000.

References

PA Highways: I-70National Bridges
Bridges in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Bridges completed in 1956 Road bridges in Pennsylvania Interstate 70 Bridges on the Interstate Highway System 1956 establishments in Pennsylvania Bridges over the Youghiogheny River {{Pennsylvania-bridge-struct-stub

See also

References