Wabash Bridge (Pittsburgh)

Wabash Bridge
Wabash Bridge 1938
Coordinates	40°26′13.51″N 80°0′26.49″W / 40.4370861°N 80.0073583°W / 40.4370861; -80.0073583
Crosses	Monongahela River
Locale	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Characteristics
Design	cantilever through truss (removed) piers: rusticated stone
Material	Steel
Total length	1,504 feet (458 m)
Longest span	812 feet (247 m)
Piers in water	2
Clearance above	46 feet (14 m)
History
Opened	1904
Closed	1946 (closed to traffic) 1948 (removed)
Location

The Wabash Bridge was a railroad bridge across the Monongahela River at Pittsburgh. It was constructed between 1902 and 1904 by railroad magnate George J. Gould for his Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway.^[1]

The Wabash Bridge carried rail traffic from the elaborate Wabash Terminal in downtown Pittsburgh to the Wabash Tunnel through Mt. Washington. The rail cars were from the Wabash-Pittsburg Terminal Railroad, an ill-fated venture by George Jay Gould to compete with the Pennsylvania Railroad in Pittsburgh.

After less than half a century, the Wabash was considered a “hard luck” bridge, haunted by its history, and an eyesore. In 1946, a fire destroyed the terminal. The bridge had become a useless hulk, and was dismantled two years later. Some of its steel was melted down for use in the Dravosburg Bridge, which was being built in 1948.