Liberty Bridge (Pittsburgh)

{{Infobox bridge

| name = Liberty Bridge

| image = Liberty and Panhandle bridges.jpg

|image_size=300px

| caption = Liberty bridge facing Downtown Pittsburgh

| official_name = Liberty Bridge

| also_known_as = South Hills Bridge

| carries = 4 lanes of roadway

| crosses = Monongahela River

| locale = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

| maint = Allegheny County

| id =

| design = Cantilever bridge

| material = steel

| mainspan = 2 spans, each {{convert|448|ft|m}}

| length = {{convert|2663|ft|m}}

| width =

| clearance =

| below = {{convert|44.4|ft|m}}

| traffic = 63,000{{cite web |url=https://www.roadsbridges.com/holding-down-fort |title=Holding down the fort |date=December 6, 2007 |access-date=May 14, 2018}}

| open = {{start date and age|1928|March|27}}

| closed =

| toll =

| map_cue =

| map_image =

| map_text =

| map_width =

| coordinates = {{coord|40.4328|-79.9967|type:landmark_region:US-PA|display=inline,title}}

| lat =

| long =

}}

The Liberty Bridge, which was completed in 1928, connects downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the Liberty Tunnels and the South Hills neighborhoods beyond. It crosses the Monongahela River and intersects Interstate 579 (the Crosstown Boulevard) at its northern terminus.

It was designed by George S. Richardson and cost $3,456,000 to build.

History

The Liberty Bridge is a steel cantilever bridge and was created as the missing link between downtown Pittsburgh and the Liberty Tunnel, which had been built four years earlier in 1924 as a link to the South Hills. The bridge opened on March 27, 1928, following a {{convert|5|mi|km|adj=mid}} vehicle parade{{cite web |url=http://brooklineconnection.com/history/Gallery/Bridge28.html |title=The Liberty Bridge Dedication - 1928 |date= |access-date=October 25, 2010}} from the southern suburbs of the city, which crossed the Smithfield Street Bridge and proceeded through downtown before ending at the southern end of the new bridge.{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/pa/pa3500/pa3566/data/pa3566data.pdf |title=Liberty Bridge |last=Gruen |first=J. Philip |date=August 1997 |website=Historic American Engineering Record |publisher=Library of Congress |location=Washington, D.C. |page=7 |access-date=January 28, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023212808/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/pa/pa3500/pa3566/data/pa3566data.pdf |archive-date=October 23, 2012 }}

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'.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}

It was renovated in 1982 by the Dick Corporation, at a cost of $32 million.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}

On September 2, 2016, the Liberty Bridge was closed for 24 days, following a fire during construction work on the bridge.{{cite web |url=http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/11208556-74/bridge-river-penndot|title=Liberty Bridge open again, but with a 9-ton limit on vehicles |date=September 26, 2016 |access-date=October 17, 2016}}{{cite web |url=http://www.wtae.com/news/fire-shuts-down-liberty-bridge/41487492 |title=Fire closes Liberty Bridge and Tunnel indefinitely, causing traffic nightmare |date=September 2, 2016 |access-date=September 2, 2016}} Intense heat from burning plastic piping had caused a {{convert|30|foot|m|0|adj=on}} steel beam (compression chord) to buckle."PennDOT works on Liberty Bridge timeline". September 4, 2016. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The bridge reopened to weight-limited traffic on September 26, and full traffic on September 30. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation assessed the value of the damages at over $3 million.{{cite web |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2016/11/02/PennDOT-sets-damages-from-Liberty-Bridge-closure-at-3-million/stories/201611020143 |title=PennDOT sets damages from Liberty Bridge closure at $3 million |date=November 2, 2016 |access-date=November 2, 2016}}

Gallery

File:View from The Bluff (715.287511A.CP).jpg|View of the Liberty Bridge five months after its opening, taken from Bluff

References

External links

[http://pghbridges.com/pittsburghE/0585-4476/libertybr.htm Liberty Bridge] on pghbridges.com
{{HAER |survey=PA-448 |id=pa3566 |title=Liberty Bridge, Spanning Monongahela River, East Carson Street & Second Avenue at State Route 3069, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, PA |photos=11 |color=1 |data=15 |cap=1}}

{{Crossings navbox

|structure = Bridges

|place = Monongahela River

|bridge = Liberty Bridge

|bridge signs = SR 3069

|upstream = South Tenth Street Bridge

|upstream signs =

|downstream = Panhandle Bridge

|downstream signs =35px

}}

Category:Bridges in Pittsburgh

Category:Bridges over the Monongahela River