The present bridge is the third bridge at the site. It remains the second oldest steel bridge in the United States.[citation needed] In 1818, a wooden bridge was built across the Monongahela by Louis Wernwag at the cost of $102,000. This bridge was destroyed in Pittsburgh's Great Fire of 1845. The second bridge on the site was a wire rope suspension bridge built by John A. Roebling. Increases in bridge traffic and river traffic eventually made the lightly built bridge with eight short spans inadequate. The Lindenthal bridge was built in its place, using the Roebling bridge's stone masonry piers.
The bridge also served the Pittsburgh Railwaysstreetcar system with lines coming from the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel and from Carson Street, crossing the bridge and continuing into downtown along Grant Street and Smithfield Street, returning to the bridge via Wood Street or Grant Street. The tracks occupied the eastern half of the bridge. The streetcar line was abandoned in July 1985, when the streetcars were diverted to the Panhandle Bridge and the new light rail subway, on July 7.[5] The last day of streetcar service on downtown Pittsburgh streets and over the Smithfield Street Bridge was July 6, 1985, although the final crossing of the bridge by a streetcar did not take place until 1:40 a.m. on July 7.[6] The former streetcar right-of-way was converted into a paved roadway for northbound traffic.
The bridge's short clearance from the river and its deteriorated condition convinced PennDOT officials to demolish and replace it with a modern bridge. Officials considered lobbying by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation on preserving the bridge. In 1994–1995 the bridge was rehabilitated with a new deck, a colorful paint scheme, and architectural lighting. The abandoned rail lines became an extra traffic lane, and a light-controlled bus lane was added during peak traffic hours.[7] The bridge also has the distinction of being the bridge most heavily walked by pedestrians, mostly commuters who park at Station Square.
The bridge connects Smithfield Street in Downtown Pittsburgh with Station Square.
Gallery
An early stereoscopic view of the bridge
Photograph of the Smithfield Street Bridge in 1894[8]
The bridge around 1900
The bridge around 1905
A view of the bridge structure from around 1906
The bridge in 1911, during the second widening
Traffic on the bridge in 1917
Construction on the bridge, 1933
A streetcar crossing the bridge in 1966, southbound
The bridge in 1974
View from downtown in 1984, with a streetcar leaving the bridge
Detail of the ironwork on the Smithfield Street Bridge, looking south