Rachel Carson Bridge

Pittsburgh has the “Three Sister Bridges”, which are three nearly identical bridges along the Allegheny River. The bridges the only trio of nearly identical bridges built in the United States. They are eyebar chain suspension bridge with through plate girders to stiffen them. The Three Sister Bridges were the first self-anchored suspension bridges, meaning that the towers are rigid and hold the eye-bars, so no additional anchorage is needed. This was done because the ground along the Allegheny River was too unstable to accommodate traditional shore anchorages for a suspension bridge.

The eastern bridge of the Three Sisters Bridge is the Rachel Carson Bridge, which is also called the 9th Street Bridge. It was officially renamed for Rachel Carson on Earth Day in 2006 to honor the renowned environmentalist.

The original bridge at this site was the Hand Street Bridge, which opened in 1840. It was a covered Burr arch truss which was the third largest in the nation. In 1889, the Pleasant Valley Electric Street Railway Company provided the funds to construct a riveted steel and wrought iron Pratt through truss bridge. The new bridge would allow for four streetcar tracks, and was completed in the fall of 1890. This bridge was demolished because it did not meet the vertical clearance requirements that were set by the Secretary of War in 1915.

The Rachel Carson Bridge was originally painted green and grey. It underwent a makeover in 1975, when it was painted Aztec gold because the city adopted black and gold as its official colors. The bridge underwent another major rehabilitation project that was completed in 2020. This project included repairs to the structural steel, repairs to the concrete/masonry substructure, replacement of the concrete deck and sidewalks, replacement of the expansion dams, refurbishment of the pylons, repairs to the stairs on the downtown side, improvements to drainage, repainting of the bridge and handrails Aztec Gold, replacement of the navigational lighting, replacement of the street lighting to resemble its original appearance from the 1920s, and replacement of utility lines under the bridge.