Senator Robert D. Fleming Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Senator Robert D. Fleming Bridge, commonly known as the 62nd Street Bridge, is a truss bridge
that carries PA Route 8 across the Allegheny River
between the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Stanton Heights and the suburb of Sharpsburg
.
The current bridge was completed on July 1, 1962 and is named for Robert D. Fleming
, a former Republican Pennsylvania State Senator whose district featured portions of Pittsburgh's northeastern suburbs. It was built alongside and just upstream from the old bridge and consists of sixteen individual spans, including a 1054 feet (321.3 m) long four span truss channel unit, with a 400 feet (121.9 m) span over the river and a 494 feet (150.6 m) three span girder section with a 227 feet (69.2 m) central span over the railroad.
A 200 feet (61 m) section of the bridge buckled when the Crescent Supply Co. warehouse beneath it was destroyed by fire on May 28, 1981. The bridge was finally reopened in January 1983.
Truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge composed of connected elements which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges...
that carries PA Route 8 across the Allegheny River
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River is a principal tributary of the Ohio River; it is located in the Eastern United States. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
between the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Stanton Heights and the suburb of Sharpsburg
Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania
Sharpsburg is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, northeast of Pittsburgh, along the Allegheny River. In the past, it had a rolling mill, foundries, machine shops, and manufacturers of varnish, brick, glass, lumber products, wire, hair, felt, and lubricating oil. In 1900, 6,842 people...
.
History
The Allegheny was first crossed at this point by a wooden bridge, built in 1856. This was replaced by the Sharpsburg Bridge in 1901, which was itself replaced in 1962, as it was deemed too narrow for the traffic volume that it carried.The current bridge was completed on July 1, 1962 and is named for Robert D. Fleming
Robert D. Fleming
Robert D. Fleming is a former member of the Pennsylvania State Senate who served from 1951 to 1974. He also served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.-References:...
, a former Republican Pennsylvania State Senator whose district featured portions of Pittsburgh's northeastern suburbs. It was built alongside and just upstream from the old bridge and consists of sixteen individual spans, including a 1054 feet (321.3 m) long four span truss channel unit, with a 400 feet (121.9 m) span over the river and a 494 feet (150.6 m) three span girder section with a 227 feet (69.2 m) central span over the railroad.
A 200 feet (61 m) section of the bridge buckled when the Crescent Supply Co. warehouse beneath it was destroyed by fire on May 28, 1981. The bridge was finally reopened in January 1983.
External links
- Senator Robert D. Fleming Bridge at pghbridges.comPghbridges.comPghbridges.com is a reference site created by Bruce S. Cridlebaugh. Formally titled, Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County and Pittsburgh, PA, pghbridges.com has information on many of the structures of the area...