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Time
Begin/In Cue |
Content |
Connections |
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:43
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Sponsors
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BR01
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1:30
3:20 Smithfield Bridge
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Introduction
"Bridge to Nowhere" or Fort Duquesne Bridge connecting downtown to
the Northside.
Introduction, con't
Smithfield Street Bridge, Weirton WV to Steubenville, OH Bridge, Interviews
with iron workers; people who love bridge history; the riverboat captain
who spotted the crack in Glenfield Bridge on bridge on Interstate 79;
and to the iron worker who had his legs caught in Brady Street Bridge
construction.
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Bridges and Buildings
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BR02
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4:19
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Flying off the "Bridge to Nowhere"
The Duquesne Bridge became known as "The Bridge to Nowhere" due to
delays while it was under construction in 1961-1968. On Dec 12, 1964
a Pitt student drove off the end of the bridge and landed unhurt on
other side. DJ Rege Cordic, made a big event of it on his morning radio
show including a bumper stickers give-away.
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Bridges and Buildings
Creating Community:
folklore
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BR03
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6:13 People walking across bridge
6:48
8:17
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City of bridges
The first bridge on this site was wooden covered bridge with a 1¢ toll
to walk across.
435 city, county, and state bridges span the county. Counting footbridges,
railroad bridges, and highway overpasses the number is in the thousands.
Southwestern Pennsylvania has more bridges per capita and per square
mile than any other region. Pittsburgh has an example of every kind
of bridge except a drawbridge. It even has an underground bridge–the
Bellefield Bridge built in 1879.
In 1893, for the Chicago World's Fair, George Ferris, a Pittsburgh
engineer, invented the Ferris wheel that has all the components of bridge
building.
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Rivers and Valleys
Bridges and Buildings
Western PA History
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BR04
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10:40 Close-up of rusting bridge
14:10
15:15
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Ironworkers' war against rust
Bridge repair, tasks and feelings of ironworkers, cause of bridge damage,
etc.
Ironworkers equipment.
Film segment on the old riveting method of bridge building.
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Bridges and Buildings:
Building bridges
Rivers and Valleys
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BR05
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15:56 Rivet. Laborers walking arch.
16:30
16:56
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Designing bridges
West End Bridge, Fort Pitt Bridges are "tied arch." Fort Pitt was the
first with a double deck (built by American Bridge).
American Bridge, a structural and fabricating plant on the Ohio River.
Clips of educational film of American Bridge showing Ft. Pitt Bridge
statistics.
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Bridges
and Buildings: Designing bridges |
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BR06
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17:39
Small bridge after Fort Pitt Bridge shot
18:23
20:50 BW still: Geneva steamboat going under old suspension bridge
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Great old bridges of SW PA
First all metal bridge in America and still in use is in Brownsville.
It holds a place in the history of bridge building.
Smithfield Street Bridge, the oldest bridge in Pittsburgh was built
in 1883 by Gustav Lindenthal. It is the third bridge on this site. It
is a "through truss style" (now the oldest one in the United States)
and was one of the first bridges built of steel. First bridge on this
site was a covered bridge with small apartment where toll collector
lived. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1845.
The second bridge was an iron suspension bridge built by John Roebling,
a bridge engineer who founded Saxonburg, PA. He invented wire rope that
he used to build bridges, including the Brooklyn Bridge.
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Bridges and Buildings:
Bridge history
Rivers and Valleys
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BR07
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21:55 Old style suspension bridge
23:04
23:57
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Other Suspension Bridges
19th Century Wheeling Suspension Bridge built in 1849 is
oldest still in use. In 1854 it was twisted by a windstorm but was repaired
and stabilized.
"Galloping Gertie," a long narrow cable suspension bridge in Washington
State twisted and turned for 1-1/2 hours during a windstorm and then
fell into Puget Sound.
South Tenth Street Bridge over the Mon is only similar bridge in Pittsburgh
but is short, heavy so is not in danger of twisting. It is monitored
by a computer-aided design system and is inspected by PennDOT regularly.
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Bridges and Buildings
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BR08
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25:30
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Bridge inspectors
Follows an inspection crew over Parkway bridge, Mansfield Bridge and
the major West End Bridge rehabilitation.
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Bridges and Buildings:
maintenance
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BR09
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31:25 BW of bridge being built
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The Golden Age of Pittsburgh bridges
George S. Richardson and staff of Allegheny County are responsible
for an unprecedented number of "really daring" bridges in
Pittsburgh in the 1920s and 1930s: Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Street
Bridges over the Allegheny; the Homestead High Level, the Liberty Bridge
over the Mon, South Tenth Street Suspension Bridge and the nearly one-mile
long McKees Rock Bridge over the Ohio River. The most incredible was
the George Westinghouse Bridge over the Turtle Creek valley. It has
five concrete arches, the concrete was flown on a cable system out to
pillars in the center. The concrete pillars have Art Deco scultpures.
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Rivers and Valleys
Bridges and Buildings:
1920s golden age of bridges
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BR10
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34:30 16TH St. Bridge
35:09 RR Bridge
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Ornamentation and Appearance
Most engineers aren't crazy about extra decorations on bridges: the
16th Street Bridge's Zodiac Signs and the Manchester
Bridge at the Point had cast iron sculptures at both ends.
Railroad bridges are adorned and designed to carry heavy loads. One
of the biggest is the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie across the Ohio between
Monaca and Beaver. It has been up 70 years and still carries traffic.
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Bridges and Buildings:
appearance
Bridges and Buildings:
Structure
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BR11
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36:05 Beach scene
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Rochester-Monaca Bridge naming rivalry
Just up the Ohio a continuous truss bridge built in 1986 connects the
towns of Monaca and Rochester. The mayors agreed in 1987 that whichever
towns team wins the local football game has the bridge named after their
town for that year. Monaca has won for 3 consecutive years.
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Rivers and Valleys
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BR12
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37:50 Wooden covered bridge
38:59
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Gone but not forgotten: Old Bridges, Part I
There is an old covered bridge built in 1889 that crosses Ten Mile
Creek near Mariana, PA. It is closed now. In 1981 an overweight fuel
truck went across it and snapped the cross beams underneath.
The 100-year-old Coraopolis Bridge crosses the Allegheny River to Neville
Island. From 1827 to 1927 this same bridge crossed the Allegheny at
Pittsburgh. It was too low for boats to go under so the county dismantled
it and loaded it onto barges that carried the pieces down river through
the locks. It has weight and height limitations and is closed in winter
due to steel's brittleness in cold weather, leaving the residents of
Neville Island stranded.
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Bridges and Buildings:
Old bridges
Story con't in "Stuff that's Gone"
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BR13
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40:47 Yellow brick building
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Cutting edge design: Veteran's Memorial Bridge, Steubenville
Steubenville's new cable-stayed suspension bridge is a revolutionary
new one-tower suspension design--a great addition to the area's showpiece
bridges.
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Bridges and Buildings:
new bridge techniques
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BR14
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44:30 Man in light blue shirt walking over bridge
45:50
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Emotions and bridges
According to Dr. Duncan Clark, a phobia expert from WPIC, agoraphobia
is not so much the bridge but the height and being in a situation you
can't get out of.
In 1962 a KDKA cameraman climbed to the top of Fort Pitt Bridge to
try, unsuccessfully, to talk a man out of jumping.
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Emotions and bridges: phobias and suicide
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BR15
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46:15 Going under light blue bridge girder
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Boat captain saves the Glenfield Bridge
In 1977 the Interstate 79 bridge at Glenfield over the back channel
of the Ohio had a crack that was spotted by a towboat Captain. He was
breaking up ice on the river and saw the crack and each time he passed
it was bigger. He reported it and traffic was stopped. They found the
design to be good but the problem was in the welding.
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Bridges and Buildings:
structure
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BR16
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49:23 Old bridge w/shore on left
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Old Bridges, Part II & The Brady St. Bridge Accident
The old Brady Street Bridge was the first toll-free river crossing.
After the new Birmingham Bridge was built to replace it, an accident
while demolishing the old bridge left one ironworker without a leg.
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Creating
Community: people, heroes |
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BR17
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52:38 Man in white sport shirt
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Bridge engineers conference
Because of the rich variety of bridges here, bridge engineers hold
their annual conference in Pittsburgh.
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BR18
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56:15 Under bridge
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Because of the acoustical qualities and feeling of serenity there,
Glenn Sturgis practices his trumpet playing under the Fort Duquesne
Bridge, the old Bridge to Nowhere.
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The End
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