Panhandle Bridge

The Panhandle Bridge (officially the Monongahela River Bridge) carries the three lines of the Port Authority Light Rail Network across the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The name comes from Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, also known as the Panhandle Route, which operated over the bridge.

Panhandle Bridge
Coordinates40°25′59.12″N 79°59′53.06″W
Carries2 tracks of the PAT "T Line"
CrossesMonongahela River
LocalePittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Official nameMonongahela River Bridge
Characteristics
DesignTruss bridge
History
Opened1903
Location

The basic structure was built in 1903, and was the third railroad bridge on the site since 1863. It was raised in 1912-14 as part of a grade separation project. The bridge's function was to carry Panhandle Route passenger, mail and express trains from Pennsylvania Station in Pittsburgh, with a tunnel in between the station and the bridge. Pennsy Panhandle freight trains utilized the Ohio Connecting Bridge slightly downstream on the Ohio River, or went the long way around the West Virginia Panhandle via Conway, Pennsylvania.

Rail traffic over the Panhandle Bridge declined as passenger trains were discontinued, and Amtrak became the only regular user of the bridge from 1971 to 1979, when the New York-St. Louis-Kansas City National Limited was discontinued on October 1 of that year. As PRR successor Conrail had no use for the bridge and the restrictive downtown tunnel, it was sold to the Port Authority, who rebuilt the bridge beginning in 1982 as part of the downtown light rail subway project,[1][2] which removed trolleys from downtown streets and the Smithfield Street Bridge. PAT (as the Port Authority system was known at the time) light rail cars began using the bridge on July 7, 1985.

Near the southern end of the bridge, the rails split with a single track going up to Allentown. This was used for a former light rail line, but it is still in use during maintenance work and service disruptions.[3]

See also
  • A one-car T Light Rail train crosses the bridge
    A one-car T Light Rail train crosses the bridge
  • Bridge supports from the river
    Bridge supports from the river
  • Light rail crossing the bridge
    Light rail crossing the bridge

References
  1. Fisher, Ken (September 24, 1980). "Conrail turning over tunnel, Panhandle Bridge to PAT". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 12 – via Google News Archive Search.
  2. Blackley, Katie (May 27, 2019). "Where Do The Abandoned Third Set Of Tracks At Steel Plaza Lead?". 90.5 WESA.
  3. O'Toole, Bill (September 6, 2018). "Will the T return to Allentown? Residents and business owners weigh in". NEXTpittsburgh. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
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