Fort Duquesne Bridge - The Bridge to Nowhere

Fort Duquesne Bridge - The Bridge to Nowhere

Photo: HoboJones, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)

A stop on Spooky Pittsburgh Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Arching over the Allegheny River ahead of you is the Fort Duquesne Bridge. Its main span was finished in 1963, but the state had not yet secured the land for its northern ramps, so for six years the bridge simply ended in midair. Pittsburghers called it the Bridge to Nowhere.

On December 12, 1964, a 21-year-old University of Pittsburgh chemistry student named Frederick Williams drove his 1959 Chrysler station wagon through the wooden barricades, raced off the end and landed upside down on the north bank, about 190 feet away. Astonishingly, he walked away unhurt. Radio host Rege Cordic answered with bumper stickers for the 'Official Entry, Cordic and Company Bridge Leap Contest,' and concrete barriers soon followed.

The bridge finally opened to traffic on October 17, 1969. Its name looks back to the French fort that once stood at the Point, just ahead - where the last stop of the night is waiting.

Getting here: Walk west along Fort Duquesne Boulevard about 6 minutes into Point State Park and follow the riverside path to the foot of the bridge.

Did you know?: The Fort Duquesne Bridge is a double-decked steel bowstring arch with a main span of about 430 feet, carrying eight lanes of traffic.

Photo op: From the riverside promenade, frame the bridge's steel arch against the North Shore skyline as the lights come on.

More on Wikipedia: Fort Duquesne Bridge · University of Pittsburgh · Regis Cordic

Stops on this tour

  1. Fort Pitt Blockhouse - The Last Piece of the Fort
  2. Portal Bridge - Inside Fort Pitt's Walls
  3. Burke Building - The Survivor of 1845
  4. Market Square - Where the City Began
  5. Allegheny County Courthouse - The Hill Where an Army Fell
  6. Bridge of Sighs - The Warden's Wife
  7. Omni William Penn Hotel - The Grand Hotel's Night Shift
  8. Trinity Cathedral Burial Ground - The Oldest Graves Downtown
  9. Byham Theater - Opened on Halloween Night
  10. Fort Duquesne Bridge - The Bridge to Nowhere
  11. The Point - Where It All Began