McKEE'S ROCKS BRIDGE HAER No. PA-445 (Page 10)

In addition to constructing the McKee's Rocks Bridge, the Fort Pitt Bridge Works of Pittsburgh, Inc. also built the cantilevered Point Bridge over the Monongahela River in 1927. [31]

Booth and Flinn Company

The company responsible for construction of the McKee's Rocks Bridge's approaches was Booth and Flinn Company of Pittsburgh, a noted general contracting firm also responsible for construction of the world's longest concrete arch bridge, the George Westinghouse Bridge in East Pittsburgh. [32] The Booth and Flinn Company was chartered 10 May 1927 by George H. Flinn, William F. Hill and W. J. Wiseman. [33] The firm was founded as "a general contracting business," to engage in

the designing, constructing, enlarging, repairing and moving or otherwise engaging in any work upon buildings, roads, highways, manufacturing plants, bridges, piers, docks, tunnels, subways, tubes, shafts, water works, railroads, railway structures and all iron, steel, wood, masonry, concrete and each constructions and to own, manufacture and furnish the building materials and supplies connected therewith. [34]

31] Farrington, et al., Allegheny County Highway and Bridge Program; Norman F. Brown, "New Cantilever Bridge Designed with Architects' Cooperation," Engineering News-Record 95 (16 July 1925): 107. see also U.S. Department of the Interior, HAER No. PA-5, "Point Bridge'" 1973, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.

32] See U.S. Department of the Interior, HAER No. PA-446, "George Westinghouse Bridge," 1997, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.

33] Allegheny County, Charter Book, 60:528.

34] Allegheny County, Charter Book, 60:528.

35] George Fleming, Biographical, History of Pittsburgh and Environs, vol. 4 (New York: American Historical Society, 1922), 298-300; Pittsburgh Index company, Business Proclamation of the Pittsburgh Index (Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Index Company, 1903), 168.




McKEE'S ROCKS BRIDGE HAER No. PA-445 (Page 11)

the construction of sewers, operation of stone quarries, manufacture of all kinds of paving material, the operation of brick yards and manufacture of brick and tile, the construction of buildings, the grading, paving and curbing, and otherwise improving of streets, alleys, roads and private property and to carry on a general contracting business. [36]

The Company responsible for construction of the bridge's substructure, the Dravo Engineering Works, was chartered 17 April 1918 by Frank R. Dravo, Ralph M. Dravo, John D. Berg, Thomas Doyle, Vere B. Edwards, A. Daria, and James L. Cox. Capitalized at $1 million, the company was formed for the "manufacture of iron or steel or both . . . and of all such work as is manufactured by general engineering foundry and machine business." [37]

Construction and Opening of the McKee's Rocks Bridge

Construction of the McKee's Rocks Bridge began 12 August 1929 and was completed two years later. [38] The bridge was dedicated 19 August 1931 with a parade of 2,000 cars. [39] The bridge ultimately was built as part of the implementation of an ambitious transportation plan undertaken by Allegheny County. According to Norman F. Brown, Director of the Allegheny County Department of Public Works, the county set out to construct a triple-tiered highway system comprised of riverside boulevards, radial highways and circuit routes. [40]

The McKee's Rocks Bridge project was integrally tied to the construction of Ohio River Boulevard on the Pittsburgh side of the Ohio River. One of the riverside boulevards described by Brown, Ohio River Boulevard was part of a system "following with unbroken continuity, as closely as possible, each bank of three rivers; these riverside Boulevards to be bonded together at suitable places with adequate bridges." [41] The McKee's Rocks Bridge was one of those bridges.

36] Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Partnership Book, vol. 10 (Archives, Allegheny County Courthouse, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 60.

37] Allegheny County, Charter Book, 55:476.

3B] Vemon R. Covell, "Description of McKee's Rocks Bridge," in McKee's Rocks Bridge, Ohio River Boulevard: Souvenir Pamphlet Commemorating the Opening of the Twelve Million Dollar Bridge and Boulevard Praject of Allegheny County's Which Was Dedicated to the Service of the People August 19, 1931 (Pittsburgh: Allegheny County Department of Public Works, 1931).

39] "Throngs Join in Opening of New Bridge and Road," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (20 August 1931): 1.

40] Norman F. Brown, "The Ohio River Boulevard and McKee's Rocks Bridge: Important Links in Allegheny County's Ultimate Highway System," in McKee's Rocks Bridge, Ohio River Boulevard.

41] Brown, "The Ohio River Boulevard and McKee's Rocks Bridge."




McKEE'S ROCKS BRIDGE HAER No. PA-445 (Page 12)

According to Brown, transportation needs had outgrown existing Ohio River crossings both up and downstream from the site where the McKee's Rocks Bridge was built:

For a great many years the need of additional crossings over the Ohio River has been an urgent necessity. Manufacturing plants on both sides of the river have frequently urged the construction of a bridge which would carry traffic across the river at some point between the Point Bridge and the Sewickley Bridge. Prior to the construction of this [McKee's Rocks] bridge it was necessary for all traffic to go several miles out of its direct course to cross the river.... This structure is now completed and will fill a long want. [42]

The McKee's Rocks Bridge was acquired by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation as one of many structures transferred to the state on 18 September 1961 when the Penmsylvania legislature passed an act "Establishing and taking over as State Highways certain county highways, or sections thereof, tunnels, bridges, viaducts and approaches there to...." [44] In the summer of 1988, the McKee's Rocks Bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing element to the multiple resource listing "Highway Bridges Owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation." An engineering report on the McKee's Rocks Bridge prepared during the 1970s found the structure suffering from "age, a faulty drainage system, disintegrating sidewalks and a severe environment." [45] Although the report recommended a rigorous staged program of repairs and maintenance, the investigators noted, "The useful life of the bridge structure will depend greatly on the degree of maintenance which is provided once all the recommended repairs are completed." [46] "Providing all repairs are made and the degree of maintenance is such as to prevent deterioration, the useful life of this bridge structure is estimated to be approximately twenty (20) years."

= 42] Brown, "The Ohio River Boulevard and McKee's Rocks Bridge."

43] "A Dedication of Importance," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 19 August 1931.

44] Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, P.L.1389 (1961).

45] Steinman, Boynton, Gronquist and London, "McKee's Rocks Bridge Investigation of Structural Condition," n d. (bridge inspection file, BMS No.02-3104-0030-0000, PennDOT District 11-0, Bridgevilie, Pennsylvania), 19.

46] Steinman, et aL, "McKee's Rocks Bridge," 21.




McKEE'S ROCKS BRIDGE HAER No. PA-445 (Page 13)

SOURCES CONSULTED

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Charter Books. Archives, Allegheny County Courthouse, Pittsburgh, Pa.

__, Commissioners' Minutes. Office of the County Manager, Allegheny County Courthouse, Pittsburgh, Pa.

__, Deed Books. Archives, Allegheny County Courthouse, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Brown, Norman F. "New Cantilever Bridge Designed with Architects' Cooperation." Engineering News-Record 95 (16 Jul. 1925): 107.

__, "The Ohio River Boulevard and McKee's Rocks Bridge: Important Links in Allegheny County's Ultimate Highway System." in McKee's Rocks Bridge, Ohio River Boulevard: Souvenir Pamphlet Commemorating the Opening of the Twelve Million Dollar Bridge and Boulevard Project of Allegheny County's Which Was Dedicated to the Service of the People August 19, 1931. Pittsburgh: Allegheny County Department of Public Works, 1931.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. P.L. 1389. 1961.

Covell, Vernon R. "Description of McKee's Rocks Bridge." In McKee's Rocks Bridge, Ohio River Boulevard: Souvenir Pamphlet Commemorating the Opening of the Twelve Million Dollar Bridge and Boulevard Project of Allegheny County's Which Was Dedicated to the Service of the People August 19, 1931. Pittsburgh: Allegheny County Department of Public Works, 1931.

"A Dedication of Importance." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 19 Aug. 1931.

Farrington, P. M., S. J. Fenves, and J. A. Tarr. The Allegheny County Highway and Bridge Program 1924-1932. Report No. R-82-132. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon Univ. Department of Civil Engineering, 1982.

Fleming, George. Biographical. History of Pittsburgh and Environs, vol. 4. New York: American Historical Society, 1922.

Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pa. Archives.

Hoerr, John P. And the Wolf Finally Came. Pittsburgh: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 1988.

Lubove, Roy. Pittsburgh. New York: New Viewpoints,1976.

Muller, Edward K. "Metropolis and Region: A Framework for Enquiry Into Western Pennsylvania." In City at the Point: Essays on the Social History of Pittsburgh, ed. Samuel Hays, 181-211. Pittsburgh: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press,1989.

McKEE'S ROCKS BRIDGE HAER No. PA-445 (Page 14)

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Bridge inspection file, BMS No. 02-3104-00300000. PennDOT District 11-0, Bridgeville, Pa.

__, Historic Highway Bridges of Pennsylvania. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, 1986

Pittsburgh Index Company. Business Proclamation of the Pittsburgh Index. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Index Company, 1903.

Steimnan, Boynton, Gronquist and London. "McKee's Rocks Bridge: Investigation of Structural Condition," n.d. Bridge inspection file, BMS No. 02-3104-0030-0000, PennDOT District 11-0, Bridgeville, Pa.

"Three Notable New Bridges at Pittsburgh." Engineering News-Record (23 Apr. 1931): 676-80.

"Throngs Join in Opening of New Bridge and Road." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (20 Aug.1931).

Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Transactions of the Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania.

U.S. Congress. House. An Act Granting the consent of Congress to the county of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, to construct, maintain, and operate a bridge across the Ohio River at or near McKees Rocks Borough, in the county of Allegheny, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 65th Cong., 3rd sess., 1919. H. R. 13647.

__, House. An Act To revive and reenact the Act entitled "An Act Granting the consent of Congress to the county of Allegheny, Pennsylvania. to construct, maintain, and operate a bridge across the Ohio River at or near McKees Rocks Borough, in the county of Allegheny, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania." 70th Cong., 2nd sess., 1929. H. R. 14451.

__, House. Bridge Across Ohio River Between Pittsburgh and McKee's Rocks, Pa. 70th Cong., 2nd sess., 1928. H. Report 1977.

__, Senate. Bridge Across Ohio River Between Pittsburgh and McKee's Rocks, Pa. 70th Cong., 2nd sess., 1929. S. Report 1526.

U.S. Department of the Interior, Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA-5, "Point Bridge," 1973, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

__, HAER No. PA-446, "George Westinghouse Bridge," 1997. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

__, HAER No. PA-447, "Washington Crossing Bridge," 1997. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

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HAER Text: Dr. David S. Rotenstein, August 1997.; Pennsylvania Historic Bridges Recording Project - I
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