kids encyclopedia robot

Brownsville Bridge facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Brownsville Bridge
Oldbrownsville.jpg
Coordinates 40°1′21″N 79°53′24″W / 40.02250°N 79.89000°W / 40.02250; -79.89000
Carries SR 4025
Crosses Monongahela River near a ford
Locale Brownsville, Pennsylvania and West Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Other name(s) Intercounty Bridge
West Brownsville Bridge
Characteristics
Design Truss bridge
Total length 945 feet (288 m)
Width 22.6 feet (6.9 m)
Longest span 520 feet (160 m)
Clearance above 20 feet (6.1 m)
History
Opened 1914
Brownsville Bridge, Intercounty Bridge, West Brownsville Bridge
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Location LR 268 over Monongahela River, West Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Area less than one acre
Built 1913
Architect Herman & Armstrong; Ft. Pitt Bridge Works
Architectural style Pennsylvania Petit truss
MPS Highway Bridges Owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation TR
NRHP reference No. 88000834
Added to NRHP June 22, 1988

The Brownsville Bridge, also known as the Intercounty Bridge and the West Brownsville Bridge (most often heard in the high counties east of the river), is a truss bridge that carries vehicular traffic across the Monongahela River between Brownsville, Pennsylvania and West Brownsville, Pennsylvania. Since the opening of the Lane Bane Bridge and highway project to carry much of the intercounty through traffic away from the main streets of downtown Brownsville in the early 1960s, another commonly heard name is Old Brownsville Bridge for the four high level viaduct.

Brownsville bridge US 40 PA1
Approaching the Brownsville-West Brownsville Bridge from the flat shelf of the non-cut bank landforms of West Brownsville.

The West Brownsville-Brownsville Bridge was completed in 1914 to replace an 1831 wooden structure that was ill-suited for the vehicular traffic that the National Road was beginning to carry, as motorized vehicle traffic began replacing animal powered transportation technologies. The famous federal route has crossed the river at this point since its inception, with ferry service in the early nineteenth century. In 1960, the Lane Bane Bridge was constructed just downstream and U.S. Route 40 was moved to the new high-level structure. Currently, the route serves local traffic and is meant to tie together the interconnected towns on each bank.

It is designated as a historic bridge by the Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation.

kids search engine
Brownsville Bridge Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.