Comments on: Three Sisters, Pittsburgh

By: Geis

Geis — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:41:21 +0000

According to a count listed in “The Bridges of Pittsburgh” by Bob Regan, the count is 446. (I was writing from memory so I apologize for exaggerating by one bridge.) 21 are owned and maintained by Allegheny County, 126 by the City, 186 by PennDOT, 42 by the Port Authority and 71 by railroads. These numbers were calculated using municipal documents, GIS data, aerial surveys and utilizing the National Bridge Inspection Standard definition of a bridge being 20 feet in length or greater.

And as for Hamburg, I’d be curious to know what definition they have for a bridge that they have over 2500.

By: Nev

Nev — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:32:06 +0000

A bit different from the Three Sisters in Edinburgh then . . .

By: HighUPinPA

HighUPinPA — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:57:52 +0000

Pittsburgh doesn’t come up much on Google Sightseeing, so all I have to say, is GO STEEELERS!!!

Oh, btw, living here, I can count the bridges. There aren’t that many. Some cross rivers, some cross valley and neighborhoods, but not 447. I guess most of them actually just are sideway extensions of roads to handle the steep terrarain.

And, please, lets not bring up that whole Pittsburgh/Hamburg debate again. We already know who the winner is…

By: Nitehawk

Nitehawk — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 04:52:53 +0000

Here is another fantastic site about bridges in Allegheny county.

http://pghbridges.com/index.htm

By: Tammo

Tammo — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:57:36 +0000

@ Geis: I'm all for local patriotism and all that ... but 447 bridges inside the city limits isn't all that much. Hamburg has more than 2.300.

By: Geis

Geis — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:56:56 +0000

At 447, Pittsburgh has more bridges than any city in the world, including Venice. We’ve also got more steps (13 miles), many of which are actually named streets. (For example, Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth is the intersection of Romeo and Frazer Streets. You can’t see it for the trees but this is one set of steps intersecting another. There is a street sign there.) It also has the the steepest measured road in the US, Canton Ave., a 38% grade on cobblestones. (Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth) Pittsburgh also has the shallowest commercial building in the world, the so-called Skinny Building at the corner of Forbes Avenue and Wood Street. (Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth) It’s only 5′2″ wide.

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:13:46 +0000

@Adam – correct, he couldn’t possibly have played there as he died in 1972, and PNC park wasn’t opened until 2001! You win the grand prize!

Which is… uh, having me update the post?

By: Adam Gott

Adam Gott — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:59:57 +0000

Oh come now, Roberto Clemente never played at ‘PNC Park.’