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McKees Rocks Bridge

McKees Rocks Bridge

Primary Photographer(s): Nathan Holth

Bridge Documented: June 2004 and July 1, 2014

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Facility Carried / Feature Intersected
Blue Belt (PA-3104) Over Ohio River, Railroad, and Various Streets
Location
McKees Rocks and Pittsburgh: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: United States
Structure Type
Metal 22 Panel Two-Hinged Braced Ribbed Through Arch, Fixed and Approach Spans: Metal 12 Panel Solid Ribbed Deck Arch, Fixed
Construction Date and Builder / Engineer
1931 By Builder/Contractor: Fort Pitt Bridge Works of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Engineer/Design: Allegheny County Department of Public Works
Rehabilitation Date
1987
Main Span Length
750.0 Feet (228.6 Meters)
Structure Length
5,900.0 Feet (1798.3 Meters)
Roadway Width
40 Feet (12.19 Meters)
Spans
1 Main Span(s) and 21 Approach Span(s)
Inventory Number
23104003000000

Historic Significance Rating (HSR)
View Information About HSR Ratings

Bridge Documentation

View Archived National Bridge Inventory Report - Has Additional Details and Evaluation

View Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) Documentation For This Bridge

HAER Data Pages, PDF

View Historical Book About This Bridge and Ohio River Boulevard

View Historical Articles About This Bridge

The McKees Rocks Bridge is one of the most unique bridges in a county filled with some of the most unique bridges in the country. www.PGHbridges.com calls this bridge a "pattern book on bridge types" and that could not be closer to the truth. The very long bridge stands out because of its variety of span types. The main span over the Ohio River is a braced rib through arch, often also called a "trussed" through arch. This is flanked by spandrel braced deck arch spans. West of all these spans are a series of Warren deck truss spans, that lead the bridge down to a concrete causeway-like structure that has a couple openings that function as grade separations. South of that somewhat unremarkable section of the bridge is the final set of spans, a pair of rare "crescent" arch spans, one of only a handful of known crescent arch bridges in North America. These spans are braced rib through arches, but the crescent name refers to how at the ends of the spans, the top and bottom chords of the arch rib come together, and essentially at the ends of the arch ribs, the ribs are solid ribbed as opposed to braced rib.

The variety of the spans on this bridge are what makes this bridge particularly noteworthy and significant. While the main steel arch span is significant, in some ways, the crescent arch spans are almost more significant because their design is more rare. To make a long story short, many of this bridge's spans would be significant historic bridges even if they were on their own as a single bridge, but together as one monumental bridge this is a very noteworthy historic bridge.

One of the most interesting aspects of the main through arch span is how the design accommodates the fact that the roadway runs at a 3% grade as it works it way east up to Ohio River Boulevard. Although the roadway runs at a grade, the steel through arch itself is not built to a slope, and is positioned horizontally. As such, there is substantially more distance between the deck and the top chord at the west end of the span. As a result, the portal bracing at the east end is a completely different design than the portal bracing at the west end. The western portal bracing has a very deep arch shape much like a half-oval, while the eastern portal bracing is a very shallow arch design. Similarly, the decorative pylon at the western end of the span is much taller than the eastern pylon. A side-by-side comparison of the two portal braces is offered below.

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Photo Galleries and Videos: McKees Rocks Bridge

 

View Photo Gallery

2014 Northern Spans Photo-Documentation

Original / Full Size Photos
Focusing mainly on the northern spans of the bridge including the main through arch, a collection of overview and detail photos. This gallery offers photos in the highest available resolution and file size in a touch-friendly popup viewer.
Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

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View Photo Gallery

2014 Northern Spans Photo-Documentation

Mobile Optimized Photos
Focusing mainly on the northern spans of the bridge including the main through arch, a collection of overview and detail photos. This gallery features data-friendly, fast-loading photos in a touch-friendly popup viewer.
Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

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View Photo Gallery

2004 Southern Spans Photo-Documentation

Original / Full Size Photos
Focusing mainly on the crescent arch spans at the southern end of the bridge, a collection of overview and detail photos. This gallery offers photos in the highest available resolution and file size in a touch-friendly popup viewer.
Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

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View Photo Gallery

2004 Southern Spans Photo-Documentation

Mobile Optimized Photos
Focusing mainly on the crescent arch spans at the southern end of the bridge, a collection of overview and detail photos. This gallery features data-friendly, fast-loading photos in a touch-friendly popup viewer.
Alternatively, Browse Without Using Viewer

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View Video

CarCam: Westbound Crossing

Full Motion Video
Note: The downloadable high quality version of this video (available on the video page) is well worth the download since it offers excellent 1080 HD detail and is vastly more impressive than the compressed streaming video. Streaming video of the bridge. Also includes a higher quality downloadable video for greater clarity or offline viewing.

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View Video

Eastbound Crossing

Full Motion Video
Streaming video of the bridge. Also includes a higher quality downloadable video for greater clarity or offline viewing.

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Maps and Links: McKees Rocks Bridge

Coordinates (Latitude, Longitude):

Search For Additional Bridge Listings:

Bridgehunter.com: View listed bridges within 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) of this bridge.

Bridgehunter.com: View listed bridges within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of this bridge.

HistoricBridges.org Bridge Browser: View listed bridges within 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) of this bridge.

HistoricBridges.org Bridge Browser: View listed bridges within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of this bridge.

2021 National Bridge Inventory: View listed bridges within 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) of this bridge.

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Flickr Gallery (Find Nearby Photos)

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USGS National Map (United States Only)

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