Donald R. Lobaugh Bridge

Last updated
Donald R. Lobaugh Bridge
Freeport bridge.jpg
View from Harrison Hills overlook.
Coordinates 40°40′07″N79°41′32″W / 40.6686°N 79.6921°W / 40.6686; -79.6921 Coordinates: 40°40′07″N79°41′32″W / 40.6686°N 79.6921°W / 40.6686; -79.6921
Carries4 lanes of PA-356.svg PA 356
Crosses Allegheny River
Locale Buffalo Township and Allegheny Township
Other name(s)Freeport Bridge
Maintained byPennDOT District 12-0
Characteristics
Design cantilever bridge
Materialsteel
Longest span426.0 feet (129.8 m)
Piers in water2
Clearance below 47.0 feet (14.3 m)
History
Opened1965

The Donald R. Lobaugh Bridge (commonly known as the Freeport Bridge) is a cantilever bridge that carries vehicular traffic across the Allegheny River between Buffalo and Allegheny townships in Pennsylvania.

Cantilever bridge bridge built using cantilevers

A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using cantilevers, structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end. For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beams; however, large cantilever bridges designed to handle road or rail traffic use trusses built from structural steel, or box girders built from prestressed concrete. The steel truss cantilever bridge was a major engineering breakthrough when first put into practice, as it can span distances of over 1,500 feet (460 m), and can be more easily constructed at difficult crossings by virtue of using little or no falsework.

Allegheny River river in western Pennsylvania and New York, United States

The Allegheny River is a 325-mile (523 km) long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York, United States. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into New York then in a zigzag southwesterly across the border and through Western Pennsylvania to join the Monongahela River at the Forks of the Ohio on the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Allegheny River is, by volume, the main headstream of both the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Historically, the Allegheny was considered to be the upper Ohio River by both Native Americans and European settlers.

Buffalo Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Buffalo Township is a township in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,307 at the 2010 census.

Contents

History

Built in 1965, [1] the bridge marks the boundary between suburban Pittsburgh and the more rural Upper Allegheny. The structure replaced the 1889 Garvers Ferry Bridge, which was extremely deteriorated by the 1950s and that was nearly destroyed in a 1959 barge collision. The bridge's namesake is Donald R. Lobaugh, a Medal of Honor recipient from World War II.

Pittsburgh City in western Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is a city in the state of Pennsylvania in the United States, and is the county seat of Allegheny County. A population of about 301,048 residents live within the city limits, making it the 66th-largest city in the U.S. The metropolitan population of 2,324,743 is the largest in both the Ohio Valley and Appalachia, the second-largest in Pennsylvania, and the 27th-largest in the U.S.

Donald Ronald Lobaugh was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.

Medal of Honor United States of Americas highest military honor

The Medal of Honor is the United States of America's highest and most prestigious personal military decoration that may be awarded to recognize U.S. military service members who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the President of the United States in the name of the U.S. Congress. Because the medal is presented "in the name of Congress", it is often referred to informally as the "Congressional Medal of Honor". However, the official name of the current award is "Medal of Honor". Within the United States Code the medal is referred to as the "Medal of Honor", and less frequently as "Congressional Medal of Honor". U.S. awards, including the Medal of Honor, do not have post-nominal titles, and while there is no official abbreviation, the most common abbreviations are "MOH" and "MH".

The bridge was listed as having a poor deck and substructure and having serious deterioration of its superstructure before having $5 million of emergency steel repairs in 2006/2007. Before the repairs the weight limit was 3 tons; this was increased to a legal load limit of 40 tons after the repairs. [2]

The bridge is maintained by Pennsylvania Department of Transport 12-0 and was rehabilitated over a period from 2010 to 2013. [3]

See also

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'Freeport bridge may refer to:

References

  1. ↑ "Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania - Freeport Bridge". July 4, 2005. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
  2. ↑ Steve Levin (August 14, 2007). "PennDOT: If bridge is open, it's safe to cross". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Freeport Bridge Project". Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
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