The city of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, in the north east of the USA, this week closed a city centre steel road bridge on the advice of the state department of transportation, and inspection consultants.
Local news sources reported that the city’s chief engineer Eric Setzler attributed the closure of Panther Hollow Bridge to concerns about steel trusses on the three-hinged arch bridge. The bridge will remain closed to motor traffic but open to cyclists and pedestrians while engineers analyse its condition and check its load-bearing limits.
The bridge, in the Oakland district, was built in 1896 and refurbished in 1999. It is 110m long and 36m above parkland. It is often confused with the similar Schenley Park Bridge, but can be distinguished by three bronze panther sculptures at either end.
Pittsburgh lies on the confluence of three rivers and is known as the City of Bridges. Many of these structures are made from locally produced steel.
In January 2022, Pittsburgh experienced the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge, which crosses another city park. The National Transportation Safety Board partly attributed this incident to failings in the city’s bridge maintenance processes (link opens in new tab).
Elsewhere in Pittsburgh, a project to rehabilitate another steel arch structure, The Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge, started this week. This bridge is also closed to vehicles. The contractor working on this Wichert truss bridge is Mosites Construction, with management and inspection led by SAI Consulting Engineers; and design led by Michael Baker.