Sister Bridge I: Roberto Clemente Bridge

Photos

Roberto Clemente Bridge

End View

Photo taken by Brian McKee in January 2009

Enlarge

BH Photo #131298

Map

Map Links

Street View

View #1

Description

The bridge represents an adaptive engineering design response to political and technical concerns. County engineers successfully maneuvered around Federally-mandated clearances, aesthetic and financial considerations raised by local agencies, and the lack of adequate anchorage points along the river banks. The structures are the only trio of nearly identical bridges and among the few surviving examples of large eyebar suspension bridges in the U.S. They were the first self-anchored suspension bridges built in this county...

-- Historic American Engineering Record

Facts

Overview: Suspension bridge over Allegheny River on Sixth Street in Pittsburgh
Location: Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Status: Open to traffic
History: Built 1928; rehabilitated 1995
Builders: - American Bridge Co. of New York (Superstructure)
- Foundation Co. of New York (Substructure)
Design: Self-anchored eyebar suspension
Dimensions: Length of largest span: 430.1 ft.
Total length: 995.1 ft.
Deck width: 38.1 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 15.6 ft.
Recognition: Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on January 7, 1986
Also called: Sixth Street Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude: +40.44558, -80.00333 (decimal degrees)
40°26'44" N, 80°00'12" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates: 17/584520/4477691 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:: Pittsburgh West
Average daily traffic (as of 2005): 12,824
Inventory numbers: PA 02 7301 0000 2012 (Pennsylvania Bridge Management System number)
NRHP 86000017 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
PANBI 02381 (Pennsylvania BRKEY bridge number on the 2011 NBI)
BH 30307 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of May 2017): Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 58.4 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Update Log

April 8, 2017: Updated by Christopher Finigan: Added category "Self-anchored suspension"
July 24, 2016: New photo from Royce and Bobette Haley
August 26, 2014: New Street View added by Patrick S. O'Donnell
August 15, 2013: New photo from Michael Miller
March 24, 2012: HAER photos posted by Jason Smith
November 18, 2010: New photos from Jason Smith
November 15, 2010: New photos from Jason Smith
November 14, 2010: Updated by Jason Smith: Changed the name of the bridge
January 6, 2009: Updated by Ian Anderson: This and the 7th Street Bridge are actually self-anchored eyebar suspension bridges
January 4, 2009: Updated by Brian McKee

Related Bridges

Sister Bridge II: Andy Warhol Bridge (Same design)
Sister Bridge III: Rachel Carson Bridge (Same design)

Sources

Brian McKee - bjmckee51 [at] yahoo [dot] com
Ian Anderson - macsignals [at] gmail [dot] com
Jason Smith - flensburg [dot] bridgehunter [dot] av [at] googlemail [dot] com
HAER PA-490-A - Three Sisters Bridges, Sixth Street Bridge, Spanning Allegheny River at Sixth Street, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, PA
Michael Miller - michael_a_miller [at] yahoo [dot] com
Patrick S. O'Donnell - 1 [dot] 991km [at] comcast [dot] net
Royce and Bobette Haley - roycehaley111 [at] yahoo [dot] com