Article from the old Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph

[mrb190]

I especially find the last seven paragraphs interesting...

>From Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph, June 28, 1959:

BATTLE TO SAVE THE POINT BRIDGE IS STIRRING HERE

An all-out battle is shaping to save the Point Bridge.

On one said are ranged the outlying communities in the southwestern part of
Allegheny County and individual taxpayers who are unhappy over the proposed
dismantling of the bridge.

They will battle state, county and city officials.  The Sun-Telegraph learned
in a suit charging that these officials did not have the power or authority
to close the bridge on June 21.

The new Fort Pitt Bridge formally opened on June 19, now is carrying traffic
that formerly crossed the Point Bridge.

ESPECIALLY OPPOSED to the threatened removal of the 30-year old span are
communities such as Crafton, Ingram, Carnegie, McKees Rocks, and Stowe
Township.

They would be called on to contribute heavily toward the $500,000 cost of
removing trolley tracks if the bridge is torn down.  The Pittsburgh Railways
Co. has refused to pay for this work.

The trolley firm switched to buses on the West End routes.  No tracks were
permitted on the new Fort Pitt Bridge.

City and county spokesman were vague when asked who issued the order to close
the bridge.

URBAN RENEWAL Coordinator John Mauro and City Traffic Engineer Michael J.
Gittens agreed that the order was issued jointly by Safety Director Rosenberg
and County Commissioner Howard Stewart.

This occurred on June 19 at a conference at the request of State Highways
Secretary Park Martin.

The county commissioner's secretary, Murray Snyder, admitted that
commissioners took no formal action to close the bridge.

He said the county still owns the bridge, but added, "it's a delicate
question," intimating that the state is still on the verge of acquiring title
to the bridge.

SNYDER SAID he knew nothing about Stewart's action in giving verbal orders to
Walter (Monk) Ketchell, head of the county police, to station his men at the
bridge entrances to warn off motorists.
As to the city's part in closing the bridge, Gittens said Rosenberg acted by
virtue of his police power in the interest of the "safety and convenience of
the public."

Gittens would not admit that the bridge was closed.  He claimed all the city
had done was ban turning movements onto the bridge.

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to get on the Point Bridge without turning.  Gittens
explained away the steel barricades on the bridge this way:

"It is only a more positive indication to the public that turning movements
are prohibited."

He said that before Army Engineers would consent to erection of the Fort Pitt
Bridge, they required a commitment that the Point Bridge would be torn down.

GITTENS ADMITTED that increase traffic in the next ten years would in all
probability require construction of additional bridges serving the South
Hills area.

He also said that there are not enough river crossings in the city.

Gittens added there is merit for consideration of a plan to build a subway
under the Monongahela River to connect with the Pittsburgh Railways Co.'s Mt.
Washington Tunnel.