Kinzua Viaduct

This is an image set within the Bridgemeister collection.

Bridge:Kinzua Viaduct
Location:Mt. Jewett, Pennsylvania, USA - Kinzua Creek
Coordinates:41.762681 N 78.589052 W
Maps:Acme, GeoHack, Google, OpenStreetMap
Image Set Contributor:David Denenberg
Date of Images:May 1999
Related Image Lists:All from David Denenberg
All in Pennsylvania
All in USA
All Viaducts
Credit:All photos by David Denenberg, please do not reuse without permission.

Much of the historic Kinzua Viaduct collapsed July 21, 2003 during a windstorm. It had already been closed to pedestrians and scheduled for rehabilitation because of concerns about its ability to withstand strong winds. Click here for photos of the collapsed bridge.

The photos below are from a May, 1999 visit to the Kinzua Viaduct. It is difficult to convey the size of the Kinzua Viaduct without seeing little people strolling across the bridge. I ventured out to Kinzua Bridge State Park too early in the morning when there were few visitors at the park and none apparently brave enough to cross the 300-foot tall structure. Walking the bridge end-to-end, I quickly noticed the wooden floorboards are spaced far enough apart so that you can easily see the ground below.

This is not the original Kinzua Viaduct. The original, completed in 1882, was an iron structure always described as "spindly". It was replaced in 1900 with the current, similar-looking steel bridge.

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