Manchester Bridge (Pittsburgh)


The Manchester Bridge, also known as the North Side Point Bridge, was a steel Pratt truss bridge that spanned the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

History

The Manchester Bridge became Pittsburgh's second bridge to span from the Point to the North Side. Its predecessor, the wooden covered Union Bridge, opened in 1874 and was demolished in 1907 after suffering extensive damage from a major flood that same year. The new bridge was constructed from 1911–1915. and was opened by Mayor Joseph G. Armstrong on August 8, 1915. It carried motorists across the Allegheny River for the next 54 years.
The bridge closed on October 17, 1969 when its successor, the Fort Duquesne Bridge opened that same day as part of the city's Renaissance I redevelopment project. Efforts were made to save the old Manchester Bridge, but it was determined that it had to be removed to complete the construction of the new Point State Park. Explosives were used to drop the south span into the Allegheny River at 18:42 on September 29, 1970. The original attempt 11 hours earlier had been unsuccessful when five of the eight charges failed to detonate. Demolition was subcontracted to Controlled Demolition by Dravo Corporation and was overseen by John. D Loizeaux. Less than a month later on October 28, the north span was brought down the same way, this time with no problems.
Sculptor Charles Keck designed four figures for the bridge, representing the historical figures of Native American Guyasuta and pioneer Christopher Gist, and the legendary ironworker Joe Magarac and coal miner Jan Volkanik. These reliefs were removed in 1970 and for a time were displayed on the grounds of the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. The reliefs were moved to a display on Pittsburgh's North Shore in July 2016 and are now placed in a location near to their original site.
memorial statue on the north bank footing of the Manchester Bridge.
A structural footing from the bridge still survives on the north bank of the Allegheny River, not far from the south end zone of Heinz Field, and has been cleaned and carved out as the setting for the Fred Rogers Memorial Statue.