Roberto Clemente 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 western bridge of the Three Sisters Bridge is the Roberto Clemente Bridge, which is also called the 6th Street Bridge. It was officially renamed for Roberto Clemente in August of 1988.

The first bridge to cross the Allegheny River in the City of Pittsburgh opened was opened in 1819. It was a covered Theodore Burr wooden arch truss named the St. Clair Bridge. This bridge was replaced from 1857 to 1860 with a suspension bridge. This structure was deemed inadequate for heavier trolley loads, and was replaced with a metal truss bridge in 1893. This bridge was replaced because it did not meet the vertical clearance requirements that were set by the Secretary of War in 1915. The current 6th street bridge was opened 1928. Unlike the 7th and 9th street bridges, the previous 6th street bridge was not demolished. It was actually reused. The bridge was placed on barges and floated to Neville Island, where it would become the Coraopolis Bridge.

The Roberto Clemente 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 was closed on February 14, 2022 for a major rehabilitation project, and was re-opened on December 31, 2023. The rehabilitation included replacing the corroded tie-down system at the ends of the bridge with four steel pins with self-lubricating bronze washers. These tied-downs are comprised of a couple of eyebars that pass down through the bottom of the piers to engage the weight of the pier in order to hold the end of the bridge down. Other work will involve replacing the deteriorated steel buckle plate structural deck with reinforced concrete and replacing thousands of rivets with high-strength bolts with button heads to mimic the look of rivets.