Article from the old Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph

[Derrick J Brashear]

On Fri, 22 Sep 2000, Kenneth Josephson wrote:

> Yes, I know it was removed in 1970. I wondered , too, why a "condemned"
> bridge remained for eleven years after it was closed. More than one person
> had mentioned the bridge was unsafe. If this was a myth, I don't know how it
> was started. The bridge wasn't that old by "bridge standards" and it
> appeared to be a substantial structure. Ken J.

The 15th St. bridge in McKeesport remained for years after being
condemned (yes the one the short line up the hill into Port Vue used)
before being blown up and replaced with a standard boring
steel-beams-and-concrete-deck span. There's a difference between "can
support its weight" and "can support traffic" though I regularly walked
the 15th St span while it was closed, as did other people as evidenced by
footprints in the snow. 

On the other hand this is probably not pertinent to the Point Bridge, or
probably wasn't in 1959 at least.

-D