Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Characteristics
Design
Railroad bridge
Total length
2,052 ft (625 m)[1]
Width
10 ft (3.0 m)
Height
301 ft (92 m)[1]
History
Constructed by
Elmira Bridge Company
Built
1882 (1882)
Collapsed
July 21, 2003 (2003-07-21)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
NRHP reference No.
77001511
Added to NRHP
August 29, 1977
Location
The Kinzua Bridge or the Kinzua Viaduct (/ˈkɪnzuː/,[2]/-zuːə/) was a railroad trestle that spanned Kinzua Creek in McKean County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The bridge was 301 feet (92 m) tall and 2,052 feet (625 m) long. Most of its structure collapsed during a tornado in July 2003.
Billed as the "Eighth Wonder of the World", the wrought iron original 1882 structure held the record for the tallest railroad bridge in the world for two years. In 1900, the bridge was dismantled and simultaneously rebuilt out of steel to allow it to accommodate heavier trains. It stayed in commercial service until 1959, when it was sold to a salvage company. In 1963 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania purchased the bridge as the centerpiece of a state park.
Restoration of the bridge began in 2002, but before it was finished a tornado struck the bridge in 2003, causing a large portion of the bridge to collapse. Corroded anchor bolts holding the bridge to its foundations failed, contributing to the collapse.
Before its collapse, the Kinzua Bridge was ranked as the fourth-tallest railway bridge in the United States.[3] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1982. The ruins of the Kinzua Bridge are in Kinzua Bridge State Park off U.S. Route 6 near the borough of Mount Jewett, Pennsylvania.
^ abCite error: The named reference ASCE was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Bright, William (2004). Native American Placenames of the United States. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 223.
^"Tornado Tears Down Historic Kinzua Viaduct". Trains. 63 (10): 25. October 2003.
The KinzuaBridge or the Kinzua Viaduct (/ˈkɪnzuː/, /-zuːə/) was a railroad trestle that spanned Kinzua Creek in McKean County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania...
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