Fort Pitt Bridge — Attraction in Pittsburgh

This steel double-decked bowstring-arch bridge carries Interstate 376 between downtown Pittsburgh and the Fort Pitt Tunnel. It opened in June 1959 and remains too narrow for the amount of traffic trying to cross it. Today, I was in a Pittsburgh city bus heading out of town and it was nearly hilarious watching our bus driver merging from the various on-ramps to get across the Monongahela River. He was only successful because people are scared of buses. Otherwise, I'd probably still be there!

With a clearance over the river of 471 feet and a total length of 1207 feet, the bridge is impressively awesome considering that it is over sixty years old. It was an achievement for the time as the first computer-designed bridge in the world.

The bridge is painted a bright yellow and there is no toll to cross it in either...

Okay really? I'm rating a bridge? Here are a couple things you ought to know. If you want to get from Oakland to Southside, you need to swing across two lanes of traffic in the middle of the bridge. If you're coming from Green tree and want to get to the north side, you need to swing across a couple of lanes of the bridge. If you're coming from downtown and want to head out towards the airport, you need to swing across a couple of lanes of traffic in the middle of the bridge. Pittsburgh bridges are complicated, and the roads are messy, but they get you there. And the best thing about the fort Pitt bridge is coming into town from Greentree in the airport at night. It's absolutely magical exiting the tunnel and seeing the...

This bridge was designed in the late 1940s and it shows. This is one of the biggest traffic bottlenecks in the city during the evening rush hour. You have two lanes from Penn Avenue (from near the Wyndham Hotel) merging with two lanes from the Parkway East merging with two lanes from the Fort Duquesne bridge and Fort Duquesne boulevard. 90% of this traffic wants to go left to the two lanes into the Fort Pitt Tunnels. The rest are trying to go right to the two West End exit lanes. Two of these merges being interstate highways, they don't have stop signs or alternate take your turn lights anywhere. It's one big free-for-all. Avoid using the lower deck of this bridge during the evening rush...