[Date Prev][Date Next] [Chronological] [Thread] [Top]

Re: (erielack) Kinzua Bridge

On Mon, 2 Mar 2009 Smtimko_@_aol.com wrote:

> NOTE: This message had contained at least one image attachment.
> To view or download the image(s), click on or cut and paste the
> following URL into your web browser:
> 
> 
> http://lists.railfan.net/listthumb.cgi?erielack-03-02-09
> 
> Kinzua_Bridge_Article_030209_001.jpg (image/jpeg, 1043x553 244346 bytes, BF: 2.36 ppb)
> 
> Here is the article that Rick mentioned earlier today.  This if from  today's 
> Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
>  
> SMT

Here is the text of the article from
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09061/952571-455.stm

Fair use permits reproduction as a newsworthy item for discussion.

Henry

J. Henry Priebe Jr.    Blue Moon Internet Corp Network Administrator
www.bluemoon.net       Internet Access & Web Hosting
www.railfan.net        Railfan Network Services

Glass-bottomed overlook planned at Kinzua gorge
Monday, March 02, 2009
By Dan Majors, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

State officials have a clear view of how they'd like to restore Kinzua Bridge
State Park in McKean County. It involves a clear view -- through a
glass-bottomed overlook -- down into the bottom of the gorge.

"It would be an octagon out at the end with a see-through floor," said Jason
Zimmerman, manager of the park complex. "If you go all the way out to the end
of what's left, it's about a 220, 240-foot drop."

"What's left" are the six southern towers that at one time supported the
historic half-mile railroad bridge 301 feet above the valley floor. Built in
1882, then rebuilt in 1900 to handle heavier trains, the Kinzua Bridge was
once the highest railroad bridge in the world. A popular 392-acre park around
the bridge opened in 1970.

But after the supporting towers began to show serious deterioration, the
bridge -- listed in the National Register of Historic Civil Engineering
Landmarks -- was closed to traffic in 2002. An extensive restoration project
was under way on July 21, 2003, when at least two tornadoes swept through the
park, crumbling 11 of the 20 bridge towers, snapping thousands of trees and
collapsing a park maintenance building.

The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources committed $5
million to restore what remains of the historic landmark, including the six
southern viaduct towers. The project also could include a visitors' center,
parking lots, and an overlook on the towers that would allow visitors to
follow paved, safety-railed walkways from park grounds to the end of the
structure. There they could look across the Kinzua Valley at three other
towers left standing or down to the twisted remains of the bridge scattered
far below.

"We can never repair what nature tore apart, but we are committed to using the
viaduct's remains and park resources as learning tools for those who visit,"
said John W. Norbeck, director of DCNR's Bureau of State Parks. "Conceptual
overlook plans call for installation of a glass deck at the end that should
prove exciting for the not-so-faint of heart."

The project was awarded in January, but it had to be pulled back because the
low bid did not meet requirements. Mr. Norbeck called the "temporary setback"
unfortunate and said the project is being put out to bid again in April.

Mr. Zimmerman said the toppled viaducts are staying on the valley floor "as an
interpretive piece" to show the magnitude of the bridge and the power of the
storm that brought them down.


Dan Majors can be reached at dmajors_@_post-gazette.com or 412-263-1456.
First published on March 2, 2009 at 12:00 am



	The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List
	http://EL-List.railfan.net/
	To Unsubscribe: http://Lists.Railfan.net/erielackunsub.html

------------------------------