Homestead Grays Bridge

The Homestead Grays Bridge, also known as the (Homestead) High Level Bridge, was built in 1936 and spans the Monongahela River between Homestead Borough and the southernmost tip of Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood.[2] It is notable as the first bridge to incorporate the Wichert Truss, which uses a quadrilateral shape over each support, into its design. This made the truss statically determinate, so that forces in the structural members could be calculated.

Homestead Grays Bridge
View of the Homestead Grays Bridge
Coordinates40°24′39″N 79°55′08″W
CarriesBlue Belt
CrossesMonongahela River
LocaleAllegheny, Pennsylvania, United States
Official nameLoshe memorial Bridge
Other name(s)Pittsburgh-Homestead High Level Bridge
Named forHomestead Grays
Maintained byAllegheny County
NBI Number027301304723920
Characteristics
DesignTruss bridge
Total length3,750 ft (1,140 m)
Height249.9 ft (76.2 m)
History
Built1936
Designated2001[1]
Homestead Grays Bridge
Location of the Homestead Grays Bridge in Pennsylvania
Homestead Grays Bridge
Homestead Grays Bridge (the United States)

History

The bridge was dedicated on Saturday November 20, 1937, having cost the county of Allegheny $2.75 million to build and originally carried four highway lanes and two streetcar tracks of Pittsburgh Railways Company.[3] It replaced the 1897 Brown's Bridge (Homestead and Highland Bridge) which was upstream and had linked Brown's Hill Rd on the north bank and Second Avenue between Ann Street and Amity Street, Homestead on the south bank.[4]

On July 11, 2002, the Homestead High-Level Bridge was renamed the Homestead Grays Bridge in honor of the Homestead Grays baseball team.[5]

Bridge railing pattern

The bridge had grown dilapidated since its last renovation in 1979. In 2006 and 2007 work was undertaken to rehabilitate the bridge: the deck was removed and the structure stripped down to the steel, then the steel structure repaired and a new, wider deck put on. The new deck is six feet wider in traffic lanes—three feet on each side—and also has broader pedestrian walkways. The railings and lighting were replaced with reproductions of historic models, and the entire structure received a new coat of blue-grey paint.

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See also

References
  1. Historic Landmark Plaques 1968-2009 (PDF). Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
  2. "Squirrel Hill South (map)" (PDF). City of Pittsburgh. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2004. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  3. "Homestead High Level Bridge". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 19, 1937. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  4. "PGHBridges.com - Brown's Bridge 1897". March 15, 2008. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
  5. "High-Level Bridge Renamed For Homestead Grays". ThePittsburghChannel.com. July 11, 2002. Archived from the original on July 13, 2002. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
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