P&LE Liberty Boro Bridge

P&LE Liberty Boro Bridge
Carries	CSX Keystone Subdivision
Crosses	Youghiogheny River
Locale	Liberty, Pennsylvania and McKeesport, Pennsylvania
Design	Girder bridge
Opened	1968

The P&LE Liberty Boro Bridge is a girder bridge across the Youghiogheny River connecting the Pittsburgh industrial suburbs of Liberty and McKeesport, Pennsylvania. In 1968, the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad untook a major construction project in conjunction with the B&O Railroad to clear tracks from Downtown McKeesport. These tracks caused traffic congestion and posed a safety hazard. As a result, both this bridge and the nearby P&LE McKeesport Bridge were created to direct rail traffic to the west bank of the river, which featured a less confusing street grid.

While its sister structure is a truss bridge that crosses the river parallel to a highway bridge, the Liberty Boro Bridge appears relatively utilatarian and crosses the river at a nearly diagonal angle. With both the P&LE and B&O having ceased operations, the structure currently serves the Pittsburgh-to-Cumberland, Maryland CSX Keystone Subdivision.

References

• PGH Bridges