Skip to main content

VIDEO: Pittsburgh says goodbye to 108-year-old Hulton Bridge

January 27, 2016
It took 500 explosive charges to bring down a 108-year-old truss bridge in the US city of Pittsburgh and crews had three days to clear up the debris, according to local news stations.

The blasts dropped the spans of 407m-long Jonathon Hulton Bridge directly into the Allegheny River. It was the first major bridge designed by Allegheny County in the state of Pennsylvania and connected the eastern Pittsburgh city suburbs of Oakmont and Harmarville.

A new steel girder bridge, directly beside it, opened to traffic in October. It has four 3.35m-wide vehicle lanes - two in each direction – and a 1.23m wide median. There are 1.8m shoulders on each side of the road and a sidewalk on the downstream side of the bridge.

Design of the new bridge was by 5412 Gannett Fleming and the contractor was Brayman Construction. Construction management and inspection was by SAI Consulting Engineers and CDR Maguire.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Missouri’s Blanchette Bridge gets smaller and smaller
    December 10, 2012
    Missouri’s Blanchette Bridge is now even more abridged. Just a few weeks after explosives took out the West Struss Span, the remaining steel truss on the bridge’s westbound lanes was blown up by demolition crews on Tuesday December 5, 2012. More than 2,000tonnes of steel dropped over 300m into the Missouri River. A 107m section of the Blanchette Bridge was brought down last month. The Blanchette Bridge blasting is part of a US$63 million, year-long project to replace the westbound span.
  • Norway's bridge meets tough environmental targets
    May 2, 2012
    One of the world's longest bridges is being built in Norway – for traffic volumes of just 2,000 cars/day reports Adrian Greeman. The stunning landscape of the long sea fjords in Norway is one of its glories, attracting thousands of tourists every summer. But the high mountains and deep sea inlets are also one of the great obstacles to transport and development.
  • Norway's bridge meets tough environmental targets
    February 27, 2012
    One of the world's longest bridges is being built in Norway – for traffic volumes of just 2,000 cars/day reports Adrian Greeman. The stunning landscape of the long sea fjords in Norway is one of its glories, attracting thousands of tourists every summer. But the high mountains and deep sea inlets are also one of the great obstacles to transport and development.
  • The Mersey Gateway bridge project continues on schedule
    October 18, 2016
    Work continues on the 2.3km Mersey Gateway signature bridge project close to Liverpool in the UK. David Arminas reports on some of the construction highlights. Under construction is a cable-stayed structure with three towers that will span the Mersey River’s expansive mud flats between the towns of Runcorn and Widnes near Liverpool. Including the approach viaducts on each side, it will be 2.3km long with a river span of 1km. The main bridge deck will be reinforced concrete. The 80m-high central tower will b