West End Bridge | Historic Pittsburgh

1941-08-27

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Title
West End Bridge
Creator
Johnston & Johnston
Identifier
MSP285.B010.F18.I01
Description
The West End Bridge, spanning the Ohio River, was designed by George S. Richardson and built by Allegheny County in 1932. The bridge is 1,891 feet in overall length. From north to south, there are four Warren Pony trusses and the main span that has a 778-foot tied arch. The main span has a stiffening truss concentric with the arch itself. The floor structure is suspended from wire cable hangers, which were subjected to the process of pretensioning, an innovation in the United States around 1930, so that the floor structure would not sag under anticipated loads. The tied-arch form was dictated by navigational clearance requirements, and the bridge probably was the largest to use this form at the time. When it was built, the vertical clearance was 73 feet, and today it is 66 feet. The bridge connects the North Side and the West End neighborhoods of Pittsburgh.
Subject
West End Bridge (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Ohio River.
Golden Triangle (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Manchester (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Bridges--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
Source
Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs, 1892-1981, MSP 285, Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center
Contributor
Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center
Collection
Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs
Rights Information
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