Wabash Bridge (Pittsburgh)
Wabash Bridge | |
|---|---|
Wabash Bridge 1938 | |
| Coordinates | 40°26′13.51″N 80°0′26.49″W / 40.4370861°N 80.0073583°W |
| Crosses | Monongahela River |
| Locale | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | cantilever through truss (removed) piers: rusticated stone |
| Material | Steel |
| Total length | 1,504 feet (458 m) |
| Longest span | 812 feet (247 m) |
| Piers in water | 2 |
| Clearance above | 46 feet (14 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | 1904 |
| Closed | 1946 (closed to traffic) 1948 (removed) |
| Location | |
The Wabash Bridge was a railroad bridge across the Monongahela River at Pittsburgh. It was constructed between 1902 and 1904 by railroad magnate George J. Gould for his Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway.
The Wabash Bridge carried rail traffic from the elaborate Wabash Terminal in downtown Pittsburgh to the Wabash Tunnel through Mt. Washington. The rail cars were from the Wabash-Pittsburg Terminal Railroad, an ill-fated venture by George Jay Gould to compete with the Pennsylvania Railroad in Pittsburgh.
After less than half a century, the Wabash was considered a “hard luck” bridge, haunted by its history, and an eyesore. In 1946, a fire destroyed the terminal. The bridge had become a useless hulk, and was dismantled two years later. Some of its steel was melted down for use in the Dravosburg Bridge, which was being built in 1948.