Bloomfield Bridge

Bloomfield Bridge

Coordinates	40°27′38″N 79°57′21″W / 40.4605°N 79.9559°W / 40.4605; -79.9559Coordinates: 40°27′38″N 79°57′21″W / 40.4605°N 79.9559°W / 40.4605; -79.9559
Crosses	P&W Subdivision, Pittsburgh Line, Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway, Local streets
Locale	Bloomfield and Polish Hill neighborhoods of Pittsburgh
Characteristics
Design	Girder bridge
Material	steel
Total length	1,535 feet (468 m)
Width	4 lanes
Clearance below	150 feet (46 m)
History
Designer	Gannett Fleming Engineering
Opened	1986

The Bloomfield Bridge carries four lanes of traffic across a steep ravine between the densely populated Pittsburgh neighborhoods of Bloomfield and Polish Hill.

History

The first Bloomfield Bridge was built in 1914 by the Fort Pitt Bridge Works and was 2,100 feet (640 m) long. It was closed in 1978 and demolished in 1980. The replacement crossing was erected in 1986, after the previous bridge was deemed deficient after years of heavy traffic, including that of popular Pittsburgh Railways streetcar lines until their 1960s conversion to buses. Although the first Bloomfield Bridge was closed in 1978, state funding issues halted work on the construction of a successor until 1984.

Location

On the Bloomfield side of the bridge, connections are made to Liberty Avenue, the commercial heart of the traditionally Italian (and increasingly Asian) neighborhood. On the Polish Hill side, PA 380 can be accessed, which runs toward Downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland, the home of several major universities.

The Bloomfield Bridge spans a large number of railroad tracks, which are portions of lines managed by CSX and Norfolk Southern. The Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway, a bus rapid transit system, also traverses the ravine. Also under the edifice is a community football and baseball field. Originally known as Dean's Field, it is historically significant as the place where Johnny Unitas played semi-pro football before jumpstarting his NFL career. After the 2009 Pittsburgh police shootings, the area was renamed after a fallen officer who resided nearby.^[1]

References

↑ "Dean's Field Renamed In Honor Of Fallen Pittsburgh Officer". ThePittsburghChannel.com. August 21, 2009. Retrieved June 26, 2010.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bloomfield Bridge.

Bloomfield Bridge at pghbridges.com

Tunnels and bridges in Pittsburgh

Tunnels	Allegheny River Tunnel Armstrong Tunnel Cork Run Tunnel Corliss Tunnel Fort Pitt Tunnel J&L Tunnel Liberty Tunnel Mount Washington Transit Tunnel Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Tunnel Pittsburgh & Steubenville Extension Railroad Tunnel Schenley Tunnel Squirrel Hill Tunnel Wabash Tunnel

Bridges	16th Street Bridge 30th Street Bridge 31st Street Bridge 33rd Street Railroad Bridge 40th Street Bridge Bloomfield Bridge Birmingham Bridge Fort Duquesne Bridge Fort Pitt Bridge Fort Wayne Railroad Bridge Glenwood Bridge Glenwood B&O Railroad Bridge Highland Park Bridge Homestead Grays Bridge Hot Metal Bridge Liberty Bridge McKees Rocks Bridge Panhandle Bridge Panther Hollow Bridge Schenley Bridge Senator Robert D. Fleming Bridge Smithfield Street Bridge South Tenth Street Bridge Three Sisters Roberto Clemente Bridge Andy Warhol Bridge Rachel Carson Bridge Veterans Bridge West End Bridge

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, January 08, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.