One of the things everybody loves about Pittsburgh is how many bridges there are. how do the most famous ones stack up in my head?
1 Hot Metal Bridge - the people's champ, getting you from Pitt campus to the Southside works in style. I don't think there's any arguing this one
2 Clemente bridge during a pirates home game - got to love a pedestrian bridge. Loses points b/c saxophone guy could stand to learn a few more songs besides the theme to 'the addams family'.
3 Fort Pitt bridge - if you're from the north like me this is your gateway into town. can be difficult to change lanes if you aren't going towards the convention center or downtown
4 31st street bridge - this is really the only way to get to that weird island in the allegheny river, which i believe is named after george washington. i am not sure, but i think you have to be super rich & a huge sailing person to live there. almost doesnt feel like a real neighborhood
5 40th street bridge - as a yuppie who moved to lawrenceville, the best way for me to get into town is actually to cross the allegheny on this bridge and take 28 before crossing back. uber drivers who don't do this are the worst. there are some nice state and city seals along the length of this bridge
6 veterans bridge - for the troops
7 smithfield street bridge - oldest bridge in town and it has a unique style. best used for getting to and from station square and i gotta say, the jury's still out on station square. with the active south side train tracks, highmark stadium is sneakily the best one in the city
8/9 andy warhol bridge/rachel carson bridge - sister bridges of the clemente and i know one of them held the pickleburgh festival last summer. if there's one take away from pickleburgh it's that a bridge is probably not the best place for an outdoor festival. points for being iconic although i think these are the bridges that out of town comedians are thinking of when they joke that we have too many bridges
10 10th street bridge - leads you to the disgusting armstrong tunnel and the intersection where big ben had his motorcycle accident. makes the list as a sentimental pick from my days living on the southside
Objectively bad bridges
birmingham bridge - this bridge has a weird section that looks like they tore down an off ramp & put up a wall. its a very "cleveland" look and i don't appreciate it.
rankin bridge - i once heard pittsburgh comedian bill crawford do a 5 minute bit on bridges and he was spot on with this one, the only bridge where they had to build another bridge underneath it to catch falling debris. gets you to kennywood painfully slowly
west end bridge - i dont have a lot of experience with this one to be honest, but its part of the pittsburgh marathon and i don't think i liked it very much
Honorable mentions
16th street/ david mccullough bridge - walk by it every day and it seems to have a good aesthetic/traffic flow; i just don't actively take it very much
liberty bridge - i think i have a bias against the south hills. surrounded by too much talent to stand out
Go steelers
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