West End Bridge (Pittsburgh)

The West End Bridge is a steel bowstring arch bridge over the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, approximately one mile below the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. The bridge was built from 1930 to 1932 primarily by the American Bridge Company (superstructure) and the Foundation Company (substructure) and was the world's first to use tied-arch technology on a large scale.[6] It connects the West End to the Chateau neighborhood on the North Side of Pittsburgh. The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and the List of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks in 2001. As of 2016, the bridge and its surrounding approaches are undergoing some major reconstruction.

West End Bridge
Coordinates40.44631°N 80.02699°W / 40.44631; -80.02699
Carries4 lanes of US 19
Two Pedestrian Walkways
CrossesOhio River
LocalePittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Official nameAllegheny County Bridge No 3 Ohio River
Other name(s)West End-North Side Bridge
Maintained byPennDOT
Characteristics
DesignBowstring arch bridge
Materialsteel
Total length1,978.75 feet (603.12 m)
Width755.0 feet (230.1 m)[1]
Longest span780 feet (240 m)
Piers in water1
Clearance below66 feet (20 m);73 feet (22 m) (When built)[2]
History
Construction cost$3,640,000[3]
OpenedDecember 2, 1932
Statistics
Daily traffic32,000[4]
Designated1979
Designated2001[5]
West End Bridge
Location in Pittsburgh

The Riverlife Task Force conducted a competition in the spring of 2006 to design a pedestrian bridge 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 [7] was submitted by Endres Ware (now Endrestudio) in association with OLIN, Ammann & Whitney, Auerbach Glasow, and RWDI.

  • Photos of the West End Bridge
  • Looking downstream
  • Looking upstream

See also

References
  1. Kidney, Walter C. (1999). Pittsburgh's Bridges Architecture and Engineering. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. p. 58.
  2. Kidney, Walter C. (1999). Pittsburgh's Bridges Architecture and Engineering. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. p. 160.
  3. "Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County and Pittsburgh, PA - HAER PA-96: West End-North Side Bridge, Pittsburgh, PA". pghbridges.com.
  4. "Holding down the fort". December 6, 2007. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  5. Historic Landmark Plaques 1968-2009 (PDF). Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
  6. "Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County and Pittsburgh, PA - Golden Age in the City of Bridges". pghbridges.com.
  7. "Firm's winning design for West End Bridge uses suspended walkways". post-gazette.com.

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