Ninth Street Bridge 1890-1926 - Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County and Pittsburgh, PA

1928 photo

Elevation drawing looking downstream

Traffic continues to cross as the 1890 metal truss (far right) is constructed surrounding the previous covered bridge after the "covering" has been removed.

OFFICIAL NAME:

OTHER DESIGNATION:
Ninth Street Bridge

LOCATION:
Pittsburgh

USGS 7.5" Topo Quad - UTM Coordinates:
Pittsburgh West - Zone 17; 0584 4477

CARRIED:
motor vehicles

BETWEEN:
-- Anderson St on right descending bank of Allegheny River
-- Ninth St [Hand St] on left descending bank of Allegheny River

CROSSED:
-- Allegheny River at mile 0.7

TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION / DESIGN:
Pratt through truss

LENGTH OF MAIN SPAN:
(north to south) five 16 ft stone arch spans viaduct; 152.5 ft side span; three 205 ft river spans; 152.5 side span

TOTAL LENGTH (including longest elevated ramp):
1,000 ft

HEIGHT OF DECK:

YEAR ERECTED / ENGINEER:
1890, Ferris and Kaufman & Company; replaced 1926
Iron City Bridge Company, contractor

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Designed by George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. and Gustave Kaufman, both graduates Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. The RPI Bulletin of March 1931 shows a photo of this bridge under construction. In the photo, the steel and wrought iron Pratt truss is being built around the older Burr arch truss stucture.

Ferris is most famous as the inventor of the Ferris Wheel amusement ride. Legend has it that Ferris got the inspiration for the Wheel as a boy living near the Carson River in Nevada. He saw a large undershot water wheel near the 1861 Cradlebaugh Bridge, south of Carson City, and wondered what it would be like to ride in one of its buckets.

Declared a toll-free bridge 16 March 1911.

Ninth St was formerly Hand St in Pittsburgh; it aligns with Anderson St in the former city of Allegheny (Northside).

The "Gazette Times" Feb 28, 1925 indicates this bridge was opened in 1890.

view page - "Three Sisters" Bridges -- Historic American Engineering Record document

FIELD CHECKED:

INFO SOURCES:
HAER; Lorant, "Pittsburgh"; Smith, "Pittsburgh: Then and Now"; Kobus and Consoli, "PRR's Golden Triangle"

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Last modified: 26-Jun-2001

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