The Liberty Bridge, completed in 1928, connects downtown

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 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 ...

, to the

Liberty Tunnels The Liberty Tunnels (also known as the Liberty Tubes) are a pair of tunnels located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States that allow motorists to travel between the South Hills of Pittsburgh and the city, beneath Mt. Washington. The tunne ...

and the South Hills neighborhoods beyond. It crosses 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-c ...

and intersects

Interstate 579 Interstate 579 (I-579) is a north–south Interstate Highway entirely within Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The highway is long. I-579 is also known as the Crosstown Boulevard since it crosses the backside of Downtown Pittsburgh. The northern term ...

(the Crosstown Boulevard) at its northern terminus.

History

The Liberty Bridge is a steel cantilever bridge and was constructed as the missing link between downtown Pittsburgh and the

Liberty Tunnel The Liberty Tunnels (also known as the Liberty Tubes) are a pair of tunnels located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States that allow motorists to travel between the South Hills of Pittsburgh and the city, beneath Mt. Washington. The tunne ...

, which had been constructed four years earlier in 1924 as a link to the South Hills. The bridge opened on March 27, 1928, following a vehicle parade from the southern suburbs of the city, which crossed the

Smithfield Street Bridge The Smithfield Street Bridge is a lenticular truss bridge crossing the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The bridge was designed by Gustav Lindenthal, the engineer who later designed the Hell Gate Bridge in New York City. The ...

and proceeded through downtown before ending at the southern end of the new bridge. It was designed by George S. Richardson and cost $3,456,000 to build. It is 2663' 3/16" long, though the main span is 448' and the water clearance is 44.4'. It was renovated in 1982 by the Dick Corporation, at a cost of $32 million.

Fire

On September 2, 2016 the Liberty Bridge was closed for 24 days, following a fire during construction work on the bridge. Intense heat from burning plastic piping had caused a steel beam (compression chord) to buckle. The bridge reopened to weight-limited traffic on September 26th, and full traffic on September 30th. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation assessed the value of the damages at over $3 million.

References

External links

Liberty Bridge
on pghbridges.com * Bridges in Pittsburgh Bridges over the Monongahela River Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Bridges completed in 1928 Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania Roads with a reversible lane 1928 establishments in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh Steel bridges in the United States Cantilever bridges in the United States {{Pittsburgh-struct-stub

History

Fire

See also

References

External links