The West End Bridge is a steel

tied-arch bridge A tied-arch bridge is an arch bridge in which the outward horizontal forces of the arch(es) caused by tension at the arch ends to a foundation are countered by equal tension of its own gravity plus any element of the total deck structure such grea ...

over the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

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 ...

, approximately below the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. It connects the West End to the Chateau neighborhood on the North Side of Pittsburgh. The bridge was built from 1930 to 1932 primarily by the

American Bridge Company The American Bridge Company is a heavy/civil construction firm that specializes in building and renovating bridges and other large, complex structures. Founded in 1900, the company is headquartered in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pitt ...

(superstructure) and the Foundation Company (substructure). It was the longest tied-arch bridge in the world when completed, and just the second bridge to use tied-arch technology over a long span, after the Tacony–Palmyra Bridge (1929) in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. The bridge was placed 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 1979 and the

List of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation (PHLF) Historic Landmark plaque program was begun in 1968 in order to identify architecturally significant structures as well as significant pieces of Pittsburgh's local heritage throughout Allegheny Cou ...

in 2001. As of 2016, the bridge and its surrounding approaches are undergoing some major reconstruction. The Riverlife Task Force conducted a competition in the spring of 2006 to design a

pedestrian bridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

across the Ohio attached to the West End Bridge. The goal of the competition was to create an iconic architectural element which ties both shore neighborhoods with the waterfronts while eliminating the need for pedestrians to cross traffic lanes and empty lots. The winning design was submitted by Endres Ware (no
Endrestudio
in association with

OLIN Olin may refer to: People Organizations * OLIN, American landscape architecture firm * Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis * Olin College, an undergraduate engineering college in Massachusetts * Olin Corporation, a chemica ...

Ammann & WhitneyAuerbach Glasow
and

RWDI Established in 1972, Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc. (RWDI) is a specialty consulting engineering firm. The RWDI group of companies has offices in Canada, USA, United Kingdom, India, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Australia. The com ...

Description

As originally built, the West End Bridge consisted of eight spans (listed from south to north): * Deck girder - *

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

pony truss 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 ...

- *Warren pony truss - *Warren pony truss - *Warren pony truss - *

Tied-arch A tied-arch bridge is an arch bridge in which the outward horizontal forces of the arch(es) caused by tension at the arch ends to a foundation are countered by equal tension of its own gravity plus any element of the total deck structure such grea ...

main span - *Warren pony truss - *Warren pony truss - *Warren pony truss - *Warren pony truss - The four northern approach spans were demolished in 1990 to build a new interchange with Ohio River Boulevard. The roadway measures curb-to-curb, carrying four traffic lanes, with sidewalks on either side. When built, the bridge had a clearance of above the Ohio River. After construction of the Emsworth Dam in 1938, the clearance was reduced to .

History

A bridge connecting the North Side to the West End was first proposed in 1912 by Pittsburgh businessman Henry Tranter (1865–1940). Tranter formed a committee to lobby for the bridge and spent more than a decade promoting the project. When the bridge was finally dedicated in 1932, Tranter served as master of ceremonies. For these reasons, he was remembered as the "Father of the West End Bridge". In 1928, Pittsburgh voters approved a $43.7 million bond issue to fund a variety of public works, including the West End Bridge,

McKees Rocks Bridge The McKees Rocks Bridge is a steel trussed through arch bridge which carries the Blue Belt, Pittsburgh's innermost beltline, across the Ohio River at Brighton Heights and McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, west of the city. At long, it is the longe ...

South Tenth Street Bridge South Tenth Street Bridge, most often called the Tenth Street Bridge, but officially dubbed the Philip Murray Bridge, is a suspension bridge spanning the Monongahela River in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the only cable suspension bridg ...

, Saw Mill Run Boulevard, Allegheny River Boulevard, and

Allegheny County Airport Allegheny County Airport is in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. It is the fifth-busiest airport in Pennsylvania following Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, and Harrisburg. The airport is owned by t ...

. Work on the West End Bridge began in 1930, with the contracts for the substructure and superstructure being awarded to the Foundation Company of New York and the

, respectively. The bridge was dedicated five months ahead of schedule on December 2, 1932. In the 1970s, planning began for an interchange at the north end of the bridge which would be the "missing link" between the

Fort Duquesne Bridge The Fort Duquesne Bridge is a steel bowstring arch bridge that spans the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was colloquially referred to as "The Bridge to Nowhere". History The bridge was constructed from 1958-1963 by PennDOT, and ...

and the newly expanded Ohio River Boulevard. However, work did not begin until 1990. During the $46 million project, the bridge was fully rehabilitated and its four northern approach spans were replaced with a new set of ramps. It reopened in 1991. The

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...

determined that removal of the approach spans did not compromise the qualities that made the bridge eligible for the

Photos of the West End Bridge

File:West End Bridge.jpg, Looking downstream File:Allegheny Monongahela Ohio.jpg, Looking upstream

References

External links

*
pghbridges.com
{{NRHP bridges Bridges in Pittsburgh Bridges over the Ohio River Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Bridges completed in 1932 Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks Tied arch bridges in the United States U.S. Route 19 Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh Steel bridges in the United States 1932 establishments in Pennsylvania

Description

History

Photos of the West End Bridge

See also

References

External links