The collapsed ruins of Kinzua Viaduct.
Photo:Manfred Schmidt/Shutterstock.com
The bridge was completed in only three months by a shockingly small crew of forty.
The short construction time was made possible by the fact that no scaffolding was used.
Instead, a gin pole was used to build the first tower.
This process was repeated across all twenty towers.
The Kinzua Viaduct became a tourist attraction.
From the very beginning, high winds were a constant threat to the bridge.
When winds became exceptionally strong the viaduct swayed and trains had to slow down to 5 miles an hour.
The first The Kinzua Bridge.
Construction was started on both ends using two 180-foot timber traveler, that spanned three towers each.
Then the traveler moved forward by one tower to effect the reconstruction of the next tower.
The Kinzua Bridge in July 1971.
Excursion trains enabled brave tourists to traverse the viaduct long after it closed to coal haulage.
In 2002, inspectors found the bridge too wonky and decided to close it for visitors.
Repairing was commenced, but before it could be completed, the tornado tore the bridge down.
The wind was blowing almost hard enough to turn my truck over.
I saw the guard shack leave the ground and land twenty feet away from where it was.
After the wind died down Kevin Hellmandallar and I ran out to see if the bridge collapsed.
We saw the bridge was down.
Only one end of the bridge stands today.
The fallen sections were never cleared, and is still visible lying on the ground.
