When was the sewickley bridge built

Below is a short history of events that impacted the Sewickley Bridge I — Sewickley Bridge II was opened October 21, He pointed out that there was no wagon bridge over the Ohio between Pittsburgh and Wheeling for a distance of miles; that the existing ferry services on the river were unreliable and often abandoned for days during the winter months; that many farmers on the heights north of the town were adverse to coming to Sewickley because of the steep grades to and from the town and river; and that the Ohio River practically divided the county without means of communication.

These adversities naturally resulted in financial losses and depreciation of property on both sides of the river. The Judge also noted that the County Commissioners had the power to erect a bridge by an act passed by the General Assembly in County Commissioners hold meetings with bridge committee, interested citizens, and local officals from Sewickley and Coraopolis.

As inconvenient as the month downtime between the earlier span and its replacement was, there was cause for rejoicing that a new bridge would ensure a quick way to the other side well into the 21st century.

There was also a feeling of pride on the part of the citizenry in having secured, against bureaucratic resistance, the promise of a replacement span. Simpson of Sewickley. Spearheading the campaign through the bureaucratic maze was Gloria G. Berry of Edgeworth. Marvin M. Wedeen, vice chairman of CSSB, was a charter organizer. Dismantling of the old structure and construction of the new was completed by U.

Steel Corp. Steel Fabrication, Ambridge. Thornburgh presiding over the ceremony. Citizens from Sewickley, Coraopolis and surrounding communities cheered as the ribbon was cut on a brilliant fall day. The new bridge, like the old, is 1, feet long. It includes two, foot-wide lanes with four-foot shoulders and a five-foot pedestrian walkway. The piers of Bridge I were capped and modified for the wider, new span. It was the last span to be built by U. Steel's American Bridge Division.

In dismantling the year-old original structure, American Bridge lowered the foot long center span in one section on July 9, With spectators present on both sides of the river, the center was lowered with blocks and wire rope by means of two large hoists placed on the bridge deck, one near each of the two river piers.

American Bridge installed two falsework bents temporary supports to balance the bridge once the center span was removed. The bents, one on each side, could be jacked up to relieve the load on the pier at the end of the bridge truss as demolition progressed. Like its successor, Sewickley Bridge I was a prizewinner of sorts, recognized in The World Almanac and Book of Facts as one of the ten outstanding cantilever spans in the United States.

It, too, had been a citizens' effort. On November 24, , the first impetus for a free bridge over the Ohio River between Sewickley and Coraopolis was manifested at a public meeting. Ezra P. Young was appointed chairman; Gilbert A. Hays, secretary. Public subscriptions were collected. A petition was presented to Judge J. White of the Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, after which viewers were appointed to meet at the proposed site on July 16, Approval came later the same year on December Government engineers were appointed by the Honorable William H.