Vanport Bridge

Vanport Bridge

The Vanport Bridge at dusk.
Coordinates 40°40′45″N 80°19′53″W / 40.67917°N 80.33139°W / 40.67917; -80.33139
Carries 4 lanes of I-376
Crosses Ohio River
Locale Vanport Township, Pennsylvania
Maintained by PennDOT
Characteristics
Design Continuous truss bridge
Longest span 220 m
History
Opened 1968
Heading northbound on I-376 across the bridge

The Vanport Bridge is a four-lane continuous truss bridge that carries Interstate 376 (former Pennsylvania Route 60) across the Ohio River in Vanport Township, Pennsylvania. $10,476,268 were spent on construction of the 1,762-foot bridge over the Ohio River connecting Vanport and Potter townships, which was opened to traffic on December 23, 1968.[1] As a vital part of the Beaver Valley Expressway it was carrying near 30,000 vehicles daily in 1990.[2] In January 1990, bridge was closed for three days after corrosion and 14 cracks in welds ranging from 7 to 34 inches were discovered during routine PennDot inspection. Damage was located in the bottom truss plate holding the steel box beam in the central span.[3] Passenger traffic was rerouted to the Rochester–Monaca Bridge; trucks — to the Shippingport Bridge. The Vanport Bridge was reopened after no imminent danger was found with repairs and clean-up scheduled.

References

  1. ↑ Pennsylvania Road Builder, 1970, Volumes 43-44, page 50.
  2. ↑ A Performance Audit of the PA Department of Transportation, Pursuant to Act 1981-35: Final Report.
  3. ↑ Vanport Bridge diagnosis, The Pittsburgh Press, January 5, 1990.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vanport Bridge.


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