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The bridges of Pittsburgh play an important role in the city's transportation system. Without bridges, the Pittsburgh region would be a series of fragmented valleys, hillsides, river plains, and isolated communities.^[1]

A 2006 study^[2] determined that, at the time, Pittsburgh had 446 bridges, though that number has been disputed.^[3] With its proximity to three major rivers and countless hills and ravines, Pittsburgh is known as "The City of Bridges".^[4]

History

Pittsburgh's first river bridges, made of wood and long since replaced, opened in 1818 at Smithfield Street and 1819 at Sixth Street (then St. Clair Street). The city's oldest in-service bridge is the current Smithfield Street Bridge, which opened in 1883; it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.^[5] Pittsburgh waged a massive road and bridge building campaign from 1924 to 1940; most of Pittsburgh's oldest major bridges date from this period. The coming of the Interstate Highway System triggered more construction in the second half of the twentieth century, as vehicular speed and throughput requirements increased. The result of more than 100 years of bridge building is a collection of most of the major types of bridge (suspension, cantilever, arch, etc.), mostly built from locally produced steel, including about forty river spans.

Many of the bridges in the Downtown area are colored Aztec Gold,^[6] either constructed as such or painted afterward, to match the city's official colors of black and gold. A few old and out-of-service bridges, such as the Hot Metal Bridge (which stood dormant until reopening as a passenger bridge in the year 2000), are exceptions to this rule.

Degrading bridge conditions

According to a 2011 study by Transportation for America, 1,194 bridges in the Pittsburgh area—or 30.4%—were deficient, the highest proportion in the nation.^[7]^[8]

On February 8, 2008, the Birmingham Bridge suffered a failure of its rocker bearings, causing the deck to drop eight inches, prompting a closure of the bridge. The bridge was repaired and fully reopened on September 8, 2008.^[9]

On January 28, 2022, the Fern Hollow Bridge across Frick Park collapsed, forcing the closure of Forbes Avenue through the park. The bridge was covered with snow when it collapsed at 6:39 a.m. local time as it was being crossed by several cars and a bus.^[10] The bridge was rebuilt and reopened on December 22, 2022.^[11]

Major bridges

This table lists all bridges crossing the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers in the City of Pittsburgh limits. Other large or notable bridges are also included.

Monongahela River

Crossing	Carries	Coordinates
Fort Pitt Bridge	I-376 / US 19 Truck / US 22 / US 30	40°26′20″N 80°00′40″W / 40.4388°N 80.0111°W / 40.4388; -80.0111
Smithfield Street Bridge	Smithfield Street	40°26′06″N 80°00′07″W / 40.4351°N 80.0020°W / 40.4351; -80.0020
Panhandle Bridge	Pittsburgh Regional Transit T Light Rail Line	40°25′59″N 79°59′53″W / 40.43306°N 79.99806°W / 40.43306; -79.99806
Liberty Bridge	Connects Liberty Tunnel to Downtown Pittsburgh	40°25′58″N 79°59′48″W / 40.4328°N 79.9968°W / 40.4328; -79.9968
South Tenth Street Bridge	South Tenth Street	40°25′57″N 79°59′21″W / 40.43250°N 79.98917°W / 40.43250; -79.98917
Birmingham Bridge	Connects Fifth and Forbes avenues to East Carson Street	40°26′00″N 79°58′25″W / 40.433361°N 79.973499°W / 40.433361; -79.973499
Hot Metal Bridge	Great Allegheny Passage/Three Rivers Heritage Trail, Hot Metal Street
Glenwood Bridge	PA 885
Glenwood B&O Railroad Bridge	Allegheny Valley Railroad
Homestead Grays Bridge (Homestead High Level Bridge)	Blue Belt

Allegheny River

Crossing	Carries	Coordinates
Fort Duquesne Bridge	I-279 / US 19 Truck	40°26′39″N 80°00′33″W / 40.4443°N 80.0093°W / 40.4443; -80.0093
Roberto Clemente Bridge	6th Street	40°26′44″N 80°00′12″W / 40.4456°N 80.0033°W / 40.4456; -80.0033
Andy Warhol Bridge	7th Street	40°26′46″N 80°00′05″W / 40.44611°N 80.00139°W / 40.44611; -80.00139
Rachel Carson Bridge	9th Street	40°26′48″N 79°59′59″W / 40.4467°N 79.9998°W / 40.4467; -79.9998
Fort Wayne Railroad Bridge	Allegheny Valley Railroad, Capitol Limited (Amtrak train), Norfolk Southern Railway Fort Wayne Line	40°26′54″N 79°59′46″W / 40.4482°N 79.9962°W / 40.4482; -79.9962
Veterans Bridge	Interstate 579	40°27′00″N 79°59′36″W / 40.4499°N 79.9934°W / 40.4499; -79.9934
David McCullough Bridge	16th Street	40°27′06″N 79°59′27″W / 40.4517°N 79.9909°W / 40.4517; -79.9909
Herr's Island Railroad Bridge (West Penn Bridge) (rails removed, crosses back channel only)	Three Rivers Heritage Trail
30th Street Bridge (crosses back channel only)	30th Street
William Raymond Prom Memorial Bridge / 31st Street Bridge	31st Street	40°27′47″N 79°58′33″W / 40.4630°N 79.9758°W / 40.4630; -79.9758
33rd Street Railroad Bridge	33rd Street / Allegheny Valley Railroad P&W Subdivision	40°27′57″N 79°58′25″W / 40.4657°N 79.9736°W / 40.4657; -79.9736
Washington Crossing Bridge / 40th Street Bridge	40th Street	40°28′22″N 79°58′07″W / 40.4728°N 79.9686°W / 40.4728; -79.9686
Senator Robert D. Fleming Bridge / 62nd Street Bridge	PA Route 8 / 62nd Street Bridge	40°29′28″N 79°56′17″W / 40.4912°N 79.9381°W / 40.4912; -79.9381
Highland Park Bridge	Blue Belt / Highland Park Bridge	40°29′21″N 79°54′43″W / 40.4891°N 79.9120°W / 40.4891; -79.9120
Brilliant Branch Railroad Bridge	Allegheny Valley Railroad Brilliant Branch / Brilliant Branch Railroad Bridge	40°29′12″N 79°54′19″W / 40.4866°N 79.9053°W / 40.4866; -79.9053

Ohio River

Crossing	Carries	Coordinates
McKees Rocks Bridge	SR 3104 / Blue Belt	40°28′38″N 80°02′54″W / 40.47722°N 80.04833°W / 40.47722; -80.04833
Ohio Connecting Railroad Bridge	Norfolk Southern Railway Fort Wayne Line	40°27′46″N 80°02′35″W / 40.46278°N 80.04306°W / 40.46278; -80.04306
West End Bridge	U.S. Route 19

Other bridges

This table lists some other major bridges within the City of Pittsburgh limits.

Bridge	Carries	Over
Bloomfield Bridge	Liberty Avenue Bloomfleld Bridge - Pittsburgh	P&W Subdivision, East Busway, Pittsburgh Line
Brilliant Cutoff Viaduct	Brilliant Branch	Silver Lake Drive
Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge	Boulevard of the Allies^[12]	Junction Hollow, P&W Subdivision, Three Rivers Heritage Trail
Commercial Street Bridge	I-376 / US 22 / US 30	Nine Mile Run, Commercial Street
Fern Hollow Bridge	Forbes Avenue	Fern Hollow Creek, Fern Hollow
Forbes Avenue Bridge	Forbes Avenue	Junction Hollow, P&W Subdivision
Frazier Street Bridge	I-376 / US 22 / US 30	Junction Hollow, P&W Subdivision, Swinburne Bridge
Greenfield Bridge	Greenfield Road / Beechwood Boulevard	Four Mile Run, I-376
Larimer Avenue Bridge	Larimer Avenue	PA 8 (Washington Boulevard)
Lincoln Avenue Bridge	Lincoln Avenue	PA 8 (Washington Boulevard)
Meadow Street Bridge	Meadow Street	Negley Run Boulevard
Murray Avenue Bridge	Murray Avenue	Beechwood Boulevard
Palm Garden Trestle	South Busway, Red Line, Blue Line, Silver Line	Saw Mill Run, Pennsylvania Route 51, Pittsburgh Subdivision, U.S. Route 19 Truck
Panther Hollow Bridge	Panther Hollow Road	Panther Hollow, Panther Hollow Run
Schenley Bridge	Schenley Drive	Junction Hollow, P&W Subdivision
Swinburne Bridge	Frazier Street	P&W Subdivision, Four Mile Run
Swindell Bridge	North Charles Street / Essen Street	Interstate 279, East Street