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Historic American Engineering Record
Sewickley Bridge
HAER No. PA-53



Spanning the Ohio River in the vicinity of Sewickley Borough
Allegheny County
Pennsylvania





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SEWICKLEY BRIDGE
HAER No. PA-53
(Page 81)

APPENDIX D

CHRONOLOGY



SEWICKLEY BRIDGE
HAER No. PA-53
(Page 82)

CHRONOLOGY

SELECTED HISTORICAL EVENTS

1894 - November 24 - A "Call" for a public meeting.

1894 - December - Committees formed to petition for a bridge at Sewickley.

1895 - January - Subsequent meetings.

1895 - Spring - Bridge committee petitions Common Plea Court No. 2 in Allegheny County for a bridge .

1895 - Summer - County Commissioners hold meetings with bridge committee, interested citizens, and local officials from Sewickley and Coraopolis.

1895 - Fall - County Commissioners deny request for new Sewickley-Coraopolis Bridge.

1897 - January 22 - Vehicular bridge between Rochester and Monaca opens for traffic.

1906 - November 12 - New petition presented to the Court of Quarter Sessions of Allegheny County.

1906 - December 6 - Court of Quarter Sessions accepts recommendation of Viewers to construct the Bridge.

1906 - December 17 - Grand Jury approves project giving the County Commissioners the authority to construct the Bridge.

1907 - June 28 - Honorable William F. Taft, Secretary of War appoints Board of Government Engineers to examine plans and proposed bridge site.

1908 - February 6 - Secretary Taft issues building permit for construction of Sewickley Bridge.

1908 - April 10 - County Commissioners file Concurrence with Court of Quarter Sessions and appropriate funds for construction in 1909 of a new Sewickley Bridge.



SEWICKLEY BRIDGE
HAER No. PA-53
(Page 83)

1909 - July 2 - Contracts issued for masonry (Piers) to Adam Laidlaw Company for $98,907.25; for superstructure to Fort Pitt Bridge Works for $372,400.00. Completion date set . . . November 30, 1910.

1909- July 21 - "A Jubilee Celebration" Construction begins on bridge.

1911 - September 19 - The opening of the Sewickley Bridge.

1913 - Pittsburgh Railways Company establishes streetcar service Pittsburgh-Sewickley.

1928 - Pennsylvania Railroad moves tracks to river bank.

1929 - Dashields Dam completed.

1929 - Original wood deck replaced with new asphaltic wearing surface.

1932 - October - New north approach to Sewickley Bridge opens.

1936 - March - Sewickley Bridge withstands major flood. - 25 year old Sewickley Bridge repaired and painted.

1948 - Major repairs are made on the Sewickley Bridge.

1952 - Greater Pittsburgh Airport opens.

1961 - Allegheny County shares with PennDOT the maintenance responsibility of the Sewickley Bridge.

1969 - Penn OT takes over ownership and total maintenance responsibility of the Bridge.

1969 - Green Engineering Company makes in-depth inspection of Bridge for PennDOT and recommends repairs.

1974 - Painters walk off job, as concrete sidewalk falls from bridge.

1974 - PennDOT closes sidewalks and removes sidewalk slabs.

1975 - Federal Highway Administration and PennDOT officials inspect the Bridge.

1975 - PennDOT posts the Bridge for three (3) ton load limit.



SEWICKLEY BRIDGE
HAER No. PA-53
(Page 84)

1976 - PennDOT posts the Bridge for 10 MPH speed limit.

1976 - Summer - Richardson, Gordon & Assoc. makes an in-depth inspection of the Bridge for Penn DOT.

1976 - September 3 - The new I-79 Bridge at Neville Island opens.

1977 - January 28 - I-79 Bridge cracks and is closed by PennDOT.

1977 - January 30 - Sewickley Bridge is closed by PennDOT.

1977 - March - Governor Shapp orders emergency bridge repairs.

1977 - April 22 - Richardson, Gordon and Assoc. authorized by PennDOT to make preliminary designs for a new Bridge.

1977 - May 20 - Sewickley Bridge reopens with restrictions (3 Ton weight limit, 10 miles per hour). (46)



SEWICKLEY BRIDGE
HAER No. PA-53
(Page 85)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Berry, Gloria G. Reflections of the Sewickley Bridge. Sewickley: The Committee to Save the Sewickley bridge, 1977. Chronology.
-- Chronology of events pertaining to the inception, construction and subsequent history of the Sewickley Bridge.

Buel, A. W. The Sewickley Cantilever Bridge Over the Ohio River. Vol. LXXVI, No. 1255. New York: American Society of Civil Engineers Transactions, December 1913.
-- An account of the fabrication and construction procedures used to construct the Sewickley Bridge.

Carnegie Mellon University, Graduate School of Urban and Public Affairs. An Assessment of the Bridge Crisis in Allegheny County. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon University Press, 4 May 1977.
-- An assessment of social implications of the four-month closing of the Sewickley Bridge.



SEWICKLEY BRIDGE
HAER No. PA-53
(Page 86)

George, Eleanore W. "Sewickleyana" Sewickley Centennial. Sewickley: Sewickley Centennial Committee, 1940. pp. 5 - 76.
-- An historical account of the Sewickley area from its founding to 1940.

Green Engineering Company. In-Depth Inspection Report Rochester-Monaca Bridge. October 1969.
-- An Engineering inspection report of the physical condition of the Rochester-Monaca Bridge.

Michael Baker, Jr. Inc. Eyebar Investigation Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge. July 1967.
-- An Engineering investigation of the existing eyebars for the Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge.

Pennsylvania Economy League, Inc. The Sewickley Bridge a Critical Link. Pittsburgh: Pennsylvania Economy League Inc., October 1977.
-- A study of the public services that would be affected by a permanent closing of the Sewickley Bridge.



SEWICKLEY BRIDGE
HAER No. PA-53 (Page 87)

Richardson, Gordon and Associates. In-Depth Inspection Report L. R. 652 Spur Sewickley Bridge over the Ohio River. February 1977.
-- An Engineering inspection report on the physical condition of the Sewickley Bridge.

Richardson, Gordon and Associates. Preliminary Design Report Sewickley Bridge Over the Ohio River, Allegheny County. 5 July 1977.
-- A preliminary design study for a new Sewickley Bridge.

Shields, B. G,. President Sewickley Historical Society, Sewickley Pennsylvania. Interview, 1 December 1977.
-- Taped personal interview for information on the past and present history of Sewickley.

"Story of the Bridge". Souvenir Program Sewickley-Coraopolis Bridge Celebration. Sewickley-Coraopolis Bridge Celebration Committee, September 1911. pp. 15 - 54.
-- An historical account of the events of the first petition for the construction of the Sewickley Bridge.



SEWICKLEY BRIDGE
HAER No. PA-53
(Page 88)

"The New Bridge". Souvenir Program Sewickley-Coraopolis Bridge Celebration. Sewickley: Sewickley-Coraopolis Bridge Celebration Committee, September 1911. pp. 58 - 63.
-- An historical account of the events that culminated in the approval and construction of the Sewickley Bridge.


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Page created: 18-Feb-2009
Last modified: 18-Feb-2009

HAER Text: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, February 1978
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visit site - National Park Service -- Historic American Engineering Record