The Kinzua Bridge was a mainstay of the Northwestern Pennsylvania economy for more than 100 years, first as a vital rail connector, and later as a tourist attraction. Thousands came to see it every year. More than 300 feet high, it was widely considered the eighth wonder of the world when it was built. And you know why if you ever stood on it in the fall.
The state took control of the bridge decades ago and let maintenance slide. (Maintenance is expensive.) Then in 2003 a huge windstorm, maybe a tornado, knocked most of it down.
So what to do with the remnants? Rebuild it? Save what's left and build an observation deck? Here's the latest.
And since I have them... I wrote a short bit about the collapse right after it happened and managed to get access for photos. (Please ignore the crappy, crappy formatting. I hate Typepad. Use something else if you are starting a blog. That whole "what you see is what you get" editing? Not so much.)
................................................................................................................................................................................
These are the good folks in charge of fixing things.
Update: This is perhaps the strangest photo. I am not sure the resolution will be high enough, but here goes: It's from a cemetery a few miles away. The headstone seems to foreshadow the collapse of the bridge, in a way. Now click on the photo to make it bigger and look in the gap in the trees right above the stone...
Comments