Donald R. Lobaugh Bridge

Bridge in Buffalo Township and Allegheny Township
40°40′07″N 79°41′32″W / 40.6686°N 79.6921°W / 40.6686; -79.6921Carries4 lanes of PA 356CrossesAllegheny RiverLocaleBuffalo Township and Allegheny TownshipOther name(s)Freeport BridgeMaintained byPennDOT District 12-0CharacteristicsDesigncantilever bridgeMaterialSteelLongest span426.0 feet (129.8 m)Piers in water2Clearance below47.0 feet (14.3 m)HistoryOpened1965LocationMap

The Donald R. Lobaugh Bridge (commonly known as the Freeport Bridge) is a cantilever bridge that carries vehicular traffic across the Allegheny River between Buffalo and Allegheny townships in Pennsylvania.

History

Built in 1965,[1] the bridge marks the boundary between suburban Pittsburgh and the more rural Upper Allegheny. The structure replaced the 1889 Garvers Ferry Bridge, which was extremely deteriorated by the 1950s and that was nearly destroyed in a 1959 barge collision. The bridge's namesake is Donald R. Lobaugh, a Medal of Honor recipient from World War II.

The bridge was listed as having a poor deck and substructure and having serious deterioration of its superstructure before having $5 million of emergency steel repairs in 2006/2007. Before the repairs the weight limit was 3 tons; this was increased to a legal load limit of 40 tons after the repairs.[2]

The bridge is maintained by Pennsylvania Department of Transport 12-0 and was rehabilitated over a period from 2010 to 2013.[3]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Donald R. Lobaugh Bridge.
  1. ^ "Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania - Freeport Bridge". July 4, 2005. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
  2. ^ Steve Levin (August 14, 2007). "PennDOT: If bridge is open, it's safe to cross". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  3. ^ "Freeport Bridge Project". Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
Bridges of the Allegheny River
Upstream
Freeport Rail Bridge
Donald R. Lobaugh Bridge
Downstream
George D. Stuart Bridge