Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge

This article is about the rail bridge between Rankin and Whitaker. For the Pittsburgh bridge, see Hot Metal Bridge.

The Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge (also known as the Union Railroad Rankin Hot Metal Bridge #35) is a railroad truss bridge across the Monongahela River between Whitaker, Pennsylvania, and Rankin, Pennsylvania. The bridge is out of service and it has not seen a train in almost 40 years.^[timeframe?]

Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge
Bridge with Carrie Furnace visible
Coordinates	40.4087°N 79.8857°W / 40.4087; -79.8857
Carries	Union Railroad (Pittsburgh)
Crosses	Monongahela River
Locale	Whitaker, Pennsylvania and Rankin, Pennsylvania
Official name	Rankin Hot Metal Bridge #35
Other name(s)	Union Railroad Rankin Hot Metal Bridge #35
Characteristics
Design	Truss bridge
Material	Steel
Longest span	483 feet (147 m)
Piers in water	3
Clearance below	50.8 feet (15.5 m)
History
Opened	1900
Location

History

The bridge was built to carry freight between Whitaker and the US Steel Carrie Furnace, with the downstream line shielded for the use of hot metal trains.^{[citation needed]} It opened on 31 December 1900 for hot metal traffic and on 14 June 1901 to general traffic.^[1] It is currently owned by the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.

In 2016, Allegheny County announced that it would begin assessing the bridge for future use by motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.^[2] Making a direct connection with Pennsylvania Route 837 is one of the goals of the project, which officials hope will relieve backups for automobile traffic entering The Waterfront. The bridge would also provide cyclists and pedestrians a direct connection from the Carrie Furnace site to the Great Allegheny Passage.

See also

• Homestead Steel Works
• Carrie Furnace
• List of crossings of the Monongahela River

References

1. "Union Railroad Company". Transtar. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
2. Blazina, Ed (December 16, 2016). "Allegheny County begins process to reopen Hot Metal Bridge between Swissvale and Munhall". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 26 May 2020.