PITTSBURGH – This is one sexy truss bridge across the Monongahela River.
One half of the Hot Metal Bridge opened in 2000, giving motorists better access to the club scene in Pittsburgh’s hip South Side district, which sits across the river from South Oakland.
The other half opened in November 2007 after the completion of a $9.7 million deck for walkers and people on bicycles to connect two popular trails that straddle the river.
The upriver span was built in 1887 for the Monongahela Connecting Railroad as part of its railroad line along the Mon. The sister span was built in 1900 for Jones and Laughlin Steel Co. to shoot crucibles of molten steel from its blast furnaces to the finishing mills.
The hot metal portion was over engineered to ensure that a car carrying bubbling steel didn’t drop into the river and cause a catastrophic explosion.
City leaders say the rehabilitated bridge is a sign that Pittsburgh has been reborn from a smoky city to a center of technology. And heck, this babe from the steel era is something to show off to visitors.
(The downriver view of Pittsburgh)
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