Some 2007 pictures on Pittsburgh South Side's Hot Metal Bridge, now a Rails to Trail bridge

[happyslug]

The Hot Metal Bridge was a Bridge the connected two sections of the old Jones and Laughlin Steel Mill in Pittsburgh. On one side was the open heath furnaces, on the other side the processing plant. The Hot metal Bridge was the train that took the hot metal from the open Heaths for further processing on the other side of the River. Parallel to it ran another railroad. When the Mill was closed down and torn down in the 1980s the Bridges were left standing. The old Railroad bridge was converted to Automobile use a few years ago, now they have finished the smaller (in width) Hot Metal bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists:

View of the Bridge from the South side:


View of "Hot Metal Street" or 29th Street on the South Side from the first bend in the ramp to the Bridge from the South Side:


A view of the trail on the South Side from the Bridge:


Look at the old pier for the Bridge, it use to curve into the old South Side J&L Plant:


The bridge Looking North:


The bridge on the North Side of the Bridge, as it crosses Second avenue to the Trial on the old B&O Commuter line to Pittsburgh:

The Actual Bridge across Second Avenue:


Second Avenue from the Bridge above it:



The bridge from the North Side of the River (Yes, it looks just like the view from the South Side of the River):


A view from the Bridge as it Crosses the Monongahela River Looking North To Downtown Pittsburgh:



A view looking on the North Shore of the River:


Ramps from the Bridge to the Trail on the North Shore of the River:


Picture showing the Bridge Across Second Avenue And the ramp down to Second Avenue on the left:





Railroad on the North Shore:


View looking SOUTH or up steam of the River, your view is partial blocked by the Parallel old Railroad Bridge now a Automobile Bridge:


For more see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Metal_Bridge

More on the Hot Metal Bridge:
http://old.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20000624HotHistory8.asp
http://www.pghbridges.com/articles/haer/moncon_main_HAER_PA277C/monconhotmet_HAER_PA277C.htm

[ohtransplant]

1. Brings back memories...

I haven't been on the trails with my bike but I spent a lot of time on both ends of those bridges and know the area well. I remember the J&L plant too...had friends and family who worked there. It's great what they've done with that area, especially on the South Side. Great pics of the Mon too! Thanks!

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Where are all the people?

[happyslug]

4. This was a WEEKDAY Photo, less people, it get busy about Noon and after 5:00 AND on the Weekends.

n/t

[tclambert]

3. Is there a band named Hot Metal Bridge yet?

You gotta admit, that would would make a cool band name.

[happyslug]

5. There is a online Magazine, a Graduate program and a Church, but no band yet.

http://hotmetalbridge.org/

Hot Metal Bridge, the literary magazine created by MFA students at the University of Pittsburgh, publishes two issues annually: fall and spring. We have published work by Russell Banks, Tom Perotta, Maxine Hong Kingston, Dan Chaon, Michelle Wildgen, Ewa Chrusciel, Charles Baxter, Sherman Alexie, Sherrie Flick, and Don Lee, but we also maintain an emphasis on finding new material from emerging and previously unpublished writers.

Hot Metal Bridge privileges no particular aesthetic or school of thought; we simply seek the most accomplished, surprising work in contemporary literature.

A University of Pittsburgh Program:
http://www.asgraduate.pitt.edu/diversity/hotmetal.php

Hot Metal Bridge Program

What is the Hot Metal Bridge Program?

The Hot Metal Bridge Program at the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh is a new two-semester post-baccalaureate fellowship program for students who will help us meet our diversity goals. We will provide a two-term fellowship for fall and spring term 2012-2013 (including tuition and stipend) for up to nine fellows. The point of the HMBP is to bridge the gap between an undergraduate degree and a graduate training program, and to help individuals prepare themselves for a successful program of doctoral studies. The four featured programs for academic year 2012-2013 are: Biological Sciences, Computer Science, English and Psychology.

Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community:
http://www.hotmetalbridge.com/p/who-we-are.html



Remember, there is ANOTHER Hot Metal Bridge upstream, at the old US Steel Plant, called the "Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge". It is presently undeveloped but is owned by a group that wants to make it another bike crossing the Monongahela River.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Furnace_Hot_Metal_Bridge
http://pghbridges.com/pittsburghE/0593-4473/urrcarrie.htm

[pasto76]

7. good fishing right there too!

old wreck and pilings right across the river. awesome.

[pasto76]

6. awesome. Thanks for posting the pics. HMB was good fishing.

used to be a water discharge just upstream from the north end; awesome white bass there. Those sheer rock banks; good smallies at daybreak. Good largemouth along every foot of the Mon. My fav catfishing spot was a few miles upstream.

Mom and dad grew up in Southside. Dad worked those mills when I was very little. I lived on 28th and sarah street - in Mom's old catholic school for a year. Miss those rivers a lot, very often. Colorado is nice, but the rivers where I grew up are hard to beat. Lots of new buildings there, which is nice. The 80s and early 90s were hard there. They've rebuilt an economy which they deserve

addendum: the shot from the bridge looking downtown is where I saw a duck get eaten one morning. 2 ducks, me motoring up in the boat. They both start to run/swim/flap for take off. One stumbles, and vanishes. I sat for about 10 minutes waiting for it to surface. As you can see in the pic, that pool is quite large, with line of sight all around. There are muskies in there, but there are also some really large catfish.