Beaver Bridge (Ohio River)

Beaver Bridge
Beaver rail bridge seen from upriver.
Carries	Two tracks of CSX Transportation.
Crosses	Ohio River
Locale	Monaca, Pennsylvania and Beaver, Pennsylvania
Design	Cantilever through truss bridge
Coordinates	40.692906°N 80.290833°W / 40.692906; -80.290833

The Beaver Bridge is a rail bridge spanning the Ohio River between Monaca and Beaver, Pennsylvania. It consists of two spans: a southern cantilever through truss of 769 feet (234 m) with 320-foot (98 m) anchor arms; and a northern camelback through truss of 370 feet (110 m). The bridge currently carries two tracks of CSX Transportation.

Second Beaver Bridge, demolished in 1910.

The bridge was designed by Albert Lucius and built by McClintic-Marshall Company of Pittsburgh between March 1908 and May 1910 for the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad. The bridge is notable in that the railroad proceeded with the cantilever design despite the collapse of the Quebec cantilever bridge during construction in 1907. The Beaver bridge replaced a single-track bridge built in 1890, 300 feet (91 m) downstream from the current bridge's position, which itself replaced an 1878 wrought iron bridge at the same location.

See also

The Beaver Bridge in 1999

• List of crossings of the Ohio River

References

• Cook, Richard J. (1987). The Beauty of Railroad Bridges in North America -- Then and Now. Golden West Books, San Marino, California (USA). ISBN 0-87095-097-5. 

External links

• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA-510, "Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad, Ohio River Bridge"
• Old photos of Beaver Bridge