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A. Physical Description

The truss members, buckle plates, floor beams, roadway and sidewalk stringers, and the bents are made of structural carbon steel. The deck, sidewalk, abutment, foundations, and river pier are made of concrete. The river pier (pier 5) is encased in black granite. The clear roadway width is 40 feet between the curbs, which consist of steel bent plates. The clear sidewalk width is 6 feet 2 inches, and the vertical clearance has no restriction except for the signs about 15 feet above the outside southbound lane. The minimum vertical clearance under span 8 between Reedsdale Street and the bottom of the bridge is 16 feet 1 inch. A 20-inch diameter gas line is suspended from the upstream sidewalk support brackets by means of U-shaped bolts. Four 2-inch Bell Telephone conduits run through an angle-framed window through the floor beams between the second and third stringers from the upstream (east) end. The telephone conduit is supported between the floor beams by steel hangers. Six 4-inch Duquesne Light Company electric ducts once passed through the floor beam at an angle-framed window between the sixth and seventh stringers from the east side. Here the expansion dams, both the telephone and electric companies have platforms adjacent to their respective lines. The platforms are attached to the stringers and accessed through manholes in the deck.

Spans 5 and 8 are identical, as are spans 6 and 7. The major difference between the two types of spans in the length of the panels. The eight panel points in spans 5 and 8 are spaced 21 feet 4-1/2 inches apart, for a total span length of 171 feet. The panels in spans 6 and 7 are 19 feet 1-1/8 inch each, for a total length of 152 feet 9 inches. The bottom chords of the trusses consist of two web plates and four flange angles with top and bottom lacing bars. Chords L2-L3, L3-L4, L4-L3', and L3'-L2' also have side plates attached to the web plates. The top chords are composed of two web plates, four angles, bottom lacing, and a top cover plate.

As in the bottom chord, members from panels 2 to 2' have larger cross sections accommodated by the use of side plates attached to the webs. Vertical posts consist of one web plate and four flange angles arranged in a manner that is similar to an I-beam. Diagonal members U1-L2, L2-U3, U3'-L2 and L2-U1' consist of a web plate, four small flange angles, and two large channels acting as flanges also arranged in an I-beam pattern. Diagonal members U3-L4' and L4-U3' consist of one web plate and four angles that form the flanges.

The floor beams consist of a 69x3/8-inch web, four 6x6x9/6-inch angles, and two cover plates (18x1/2-inch top and 14x9/6-inch bottom), acting as the top and bottom flanges. Each bay consists of eight stringers. Exterior stringers 1, 2, 7, and 8 are CB21x55s and the interior stringers 3, 4, 5, and 6 are CB24x70s. All stringers are seated on two 6x6x9/16-inch angles and are connected at their web to the floor beam web by two 4x3x3/8-inch angles. There are 3/8-inch buckle plates between each pair of stringers in each bay. The buckle plates are 6x6-foot pan-shaped plates; the deepest part is at the center which has a weep hole. The sidewalk stringers are composed of a 20x3/8-inch web plate, two 3-1/2x5-3/8-inch bottom flange angles and two 4x3x3/;8-inch top flange angles. The stringer is supported by a triangular truss consisting of two 3x3x3/8-inch angles, two 3-1/2x3x3/8-inch angles and two 3/8-inch connecting plates.

The concrete deck is 5 inches thick on the sidewalk and varies from 5-7/8-inch thick at the edge of the roadway to 8-3/8-inch thick at the center of the roadway. These dimensions do not include the depression at the center of the buckle plates which is about 2-1/2-inches.

Steel bents 7 and 8 are trusses that are anchored into concrete foundations. Each truss member consists of four angles, two back-to-back and connected to the other two by two 3/4x1/2-inch lacing bars or 21x9/16-inch stay plates. Each bent is 44 feet wide. Bent 7 is about 22 feet high, while bent 8 is 19 feet high. Steel bent 6 consists of two 10-feet deep trusses which support two 6-feet deep girders. The bottom of the truss is about 16 feet above the roadway surface. This permits traffic access to several of the businesses under the bridge. The girders are composed of a 72x1-inch web, four 8x8x5/8-inch angles, and 18-inch cover plates along the top and bottom flange. The trusses consist of four 4x3x3/8-inch angles connected by a web of 2-3/4x3/8-inch lacing bars and 12x3/8-inch stay plates. All three steel bent vertical members consist of two boxed members connected by a 45x3/4-inch plate and four 4x4x3/8-inch angles. Each box consists of 20x5/8-inch plates on three sides and 2-3/4x3/8-inch lacing bars on the outer side. The plates are connected by four 6x4x5/8-inch angles.

Pier 5 is a large masonry pier that sits on the bank of the Ohio River. The pier is encased in large black granite blocks that not only give it an aesthetic quality, but endure river action and weather well. The north abutment consists of concrete retaining walls, including a back wall, the bearing wall, and the side walls.

Rocker bearings are at bents 6 and 8. Each 27x13-inch rocker has a radius of 1 feet 8 inches from the centerline of the 6-inch diameter pine to the 1-1/2-inch thick iron bearing plate, all of which sit on a 27x27x3-inch steel plate. The fixed bearings are at the northern abutment and at piers 5 and 7. Each fixed shoe sites on a 3 foot 4 inch by 2 foot 10 inch base. The bearing is 2 feet high from the centerline of the 6-inch diameter pin to the base.

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