The seemingly endless stretch of tree-covered hills in the city is one of my favorite parts about living in Pittsburgh. So many good views. I haven’t been to another city with so much greenery.
“Most PennDOT thing ever” is a nice touch! Kyle, did you know there is also a road to nowhere in Lancaster? They built all the overpasses for a 4 lane highway, then ran out of money. It remained mostly an unpaved road and we all call it the “Goat Path” because it’s inhabited by farm animals.
i95 in Philadelphia had those unfinished overpasses around Port Richmond and bridesburg for years. Lancaster is definitely still a beautiful area I have some family out there I'm always happy to visit them
@@GeographyKing Sigh. We are a laughingstock in this regard. If fairness, I think we have the most highway miles in the country, but still PennDOT is a complete joke.
The bridges in Chicago look really cool with skyscrapers towering on either side. Only the bridges themselves arent quite as large or spectacular as Pittsburgh. I've never been, but I hear the views coming out of the tunnels into downtown are a sight to behold.
Great video, Kyle! Although you didn't mention the bridges over the Schuylkill River, the one that lies behind the famous Philadelphia Museum of Art (the Rocky steps), which is known as the Spring Garden Street Bridge was designed by my father, Richard Wisniewski. He passed in 2013 having not known that he was "famous", as his name appears in the Wikipedia article about the bridge! He designed it straight out of college using a slide rule in the early sixties and it was opened in 1966. -Rick W
I live in Ohio now and took a trip to Pittsburgh a dozen months ago or so. I went into the tunnel and was stunned when I emerged on a bridge flying into downtown. It was amazing. Gorgeous bridges everywhere! The bridges are a bit challenging to navigate if you’re new to the area. Traffic is unforgiving when you’ve got to suddenly merge on an approach ramp and cross lanes to get to where you need to be. But I’m still looking forward to a return visit at some point just to see and photograph some of the bridges. On the flipity flop, I’ve no plan to visit Philly for their bridges. Liberty Bell and historic buildings perhaps, but prolly not their bridges. 🤷🏻♂️
That view when you come out of the tunnel and straight on the bridge, which Pittsburgh suddenly right in front of you, is hands down on of the most beautiful city skyline views in the world. The way it comes out of nowhere just adds to the punch.
it's nearly impossible to compare phl to those incoming pbrg views but the skyline views of center city phl both directions of i95 coming over the ben Franklin or Walt Whitman or from the Schuylkill expressway aren't half bad
You are absolutely right about the bridges being difficult to navigate. I lived in Pittsburgh for 2 years, count myself excellent with directions, but I was constantly in the wrong lane and ending up where I did not want to go. Regardless, the city is awesome.
I'm a native Yinzer (Pittsburgher) who lived in Philly for years. This video couldn't be more homer, so thanks! It's Rachel Carson, not Carlson. Rachel Carson was the environmentalist and the bridge's namesake. Also, the traffic going up river on the Allegheny is always horrible. Just an FYI for anyone visiting here.
The bridge in Chester, the Commodore Barry Bridge, replaced a wonderful car ferry. As a teenager in the late 60's I have fond memories of taking the ferry across in my rebuilt 1929 Model A. On the way to Ocean City, NJ and the southern Jersey shore. It was a sad day for me, I morned for years, when that bridge was built.
Most of the modern bridges built in Pittsburgh were specifically built in different styles. Rumor has it this was done as a "showroom" to display different techniques and styles that Pittsburgh's steel industry was capable of building.
Everyone always talks about coming into the city via the tunnel and Duquesne bridge from the south but I live north so we always came in from 79 to 279 so my first view of the city was always going under the Swindell Bridge and turning the corner and the city would pop out behind the hills.
279 is good view. I would always come down rt. 65. Once you get passed the McKees Rocks bridge and make the one bend, the city just opens up. It’s a cool view.
Hi, Kyle. I really enjoy your videos, especially the variety of topics you cover. I live in Vancouver, WA, and would love to see a video about the bridges of Portland, OR and the nearby Columbia River.
As far as whether there are really 3 rivers, I do know that on some days you can see where the Monongahela and the Allegheny come together and create a line straight up the middle pointing toward the Ohio. It's visible since the Mon is a lot muddier than the Allegheny.
Pittsburgh does claim to fame the number of public steps-over 800 sets. Which you mentioned in your prior video and I agree that it’s a city best seen on foot
I walked across the Smithfield St Bridge in Pittsburgh coming from seeing a spectacular view of downtown from up along Grand View and then going down the Monongahela Incline, very cool stuff. My hotel was right on the other side of the bridge. That was almost a year ago, but now I'm definitely going to seek out some of the bridges in Philly when I go there for the 1st time probably in 2025. My biggest question though is what is the record for the number of times saying the word "bridge" in a video?😂 This is has got to be one of the greatest performances of all time.
Great video - your videos are always so much fun. It was neat seeing my old hometown of Philly - traveled so many of those bridges living in Philly and Bucks County - we used to go over to New Jersey all the time to get full-service cheaper gasoline :) By the way, great pronunciation of many difficult river names!!
I don't even know how many times I've been over the bridge from New Hope to Lambertville. Probably hundreds since I live in PA and had friends in Lambertville.
I've traveled extensively to Pittsburgh 90+ times and am from SJ and commuted to Philly for years and years. I can talk about both. Id say that they both have their ups and downs traffic wise, but Pittsburgh is always going to have the fort Pitt bridge tunnel choke point as well as the squirrel Hill tunnel and viaduct choke points. Phillys major bridges across the Delaware would have less traffic during rush hours if the tolls / PA arriving lanes had better structure and exit designs. The ben Franklin dumps you into a big traffic circle and has traffic lights... On the interstate. This will always cause disruption to your regular highway speeds, but never truly having crazy bumper to bumper traffic. The Schuylkill expressway is a different story Great video!
Awesome comment, I'm from Glassboro. I went to college in Pittsburgh , then Lived in Philly for 10 years.. safe to say I crossed about 90% of the bridges in both cities..
Thanks for the insider info. When I visit Pittsburgh I almost exclusively walk, but as a pedestrian viewing traffic flow it doesn't seem to help that there are so many bridges. It ends up being more stoplights and stop-n-go to get on the bridges and maybe not any more efficient. But one negative about fewer bridges is that one major car accident on one of them can cause huge delays with fewer other options.
Nearby Pittsburgh is the town of Ambridge, Pa named after the American Bridge Company, but as near as I can tell they didn’t build any bridges in Pittsburgh. They did however build the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan!
Philadelphia has the oldest bridge in the western hemisphere. Its a stone bridge from the early 1600s on what is now Frankford av (RT-13) formally the Kings Highway.
First time I drove into Pittsburgh and got there at midnight in 1996. Went to photgraph Allegheny Cemetery. Looked for a hotel and saw a cop car at a 7 Eleven. Stopped ad asked directions. Cop says, first... you are in a dangerous area for your color (Light). Then he told me where to drive for a good hotel. In Philly on the same trip my Retal Car was pounded on by some jerk on the street when I slowed. Traveled Asia and Europe but felt less safe in my own country and I lived in Oaland at the time which was fine...mostly. Not so much these days.
A couple things... for the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, Palmyra is pernounced Pal"my"ra. I grew up in Palmyra almost next to the bridge and have many stories about it. A bridge you forgot about and its probably the most important bridge over the Delaware River is the "Delair RR Bridge" built in 1895. It carries NJ TRANSIT'S Atlantic City Line as well as handles ALL of South Jerseys freight traffic. That is the ONLY entry for any rail equipment in South Jersey. But good video tho!
Guess I lost if you only count river bridges. Wikipedia lists quite a few overlands. Oh well. I've been over at least half of Pittsburgh's river bridges, although not the Hot Metal bridge, which looks way cool. I think you left out the Homestead Bridge over the Monongahela, which goes from Pittsburgh to Homestead. Another major ravine bridge is the Bloomfield Bridge, and there are smaller ravine bridges on Murray Avenue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood and Forbes Avenue in Oakland plus I think the J.P. McArdle (sp?) Roadway going up the side of Mount Washington has at least one as well. I've been over those ravine bridges plus the two ravine bridges you mentioned, including the one that collapsed.
Awesome video, dude. I live in Akron currently, but I've been to Pittsburgh many times and I had lived a few miles away from the Schuylkill for a time. I have traversed the area surrounding Philly much. Thanks for the fun facts. Love the channel.
I can't quite explain why, but just from Kyle's videos, the city reminds me of my favourite city in my native Germany: Halle an der Saale (an der Saale = upon Saale river) It is one of those underrated medium sized cities, just like Pittsburgh. It has the Saale, which is a fairly big river, but one of my favourite features of it are the many small channels with water flowing through the city, being populated by Nutrias, a big rodent. You can easily spot and watch them, pretty cute. Also the famous composer Händel was born and studied there. I have never been to the USA, but if I ever go, I def wanna see Pittsburgh!
@@muenchhausenmusic Thank you for this comment! I'm from Pittsburgh and I've never been across the Atlantic ocean, but next year I will be visiting Germany for two weeks and now I want to add Halle an der Saale to my travel plans. It looks lovely on google street view - walkable neighborhoods with plenty of trees and green spaces, just like Pittsburgh! I hope you get the chance to visit my home city some day as well, cheers.
Great video! I've lived all my life in the Philadelphia area, and my husband is from the Pittsburgh area, so we are well acquainted with all the bridges. I remember the Betsy Ross Bridge opening in 1976 for the Bicentennial and the building of the Commodore Barry Bridge, which replaced the ferry between Bridgeport and Chester, PA. I remember taking that ferry.
@@GeographyKing That was my favorite bridge as a little kid. We crossed it frequently. It has a big semicircle-shaped frame, and part of it is a grating that makes a humming sound when you drive over it. We called it the "hum bridge". Back then (1960s) the toll was 5 or 10 cents.
I'm from the philly suburbs, and I went to college in pittsburgh for 4 years. Pittsburgh has far better bridges, mostly because all of our bridges lead to camden NJ, which only has 1. The aquarium, and 2. Stolen cars that needed to be dropped off somewhere quick. The ben franklin is epic though. It's worth mentioning that sometime in 2021, Biden was due for a talk on infrastructure in Pittsburgh, and the day before this happened, a bridge collapsed with a bus on it. And last summer, Biden was due for a similar talk in Philadelphia and that was the day after i95 fully collapsed after a tanker fire. I imagine next he'll schedule a rally in Harrisburg and someone's car will be swallowed whole by a particularly mean pothole the day before.
Oh, your drone video up the Schuylkill River reminds me there's yet another bridge just 1 block north of Market St - not sure what it's called, but it continues JFK Boulevard across the Schuylkill to connect with 30th Street Station on the west side of the river. That's 4 bridges just 1 block apart! That beats Pittsburgh's 6-8-9 trio!
Had the privilege of living in both of these amazing cities. I crossed both the Anderson Bridge in Pgh and the Manayunk Bridge on Philly nearly on the daily. Both are now pedestrian bridges- though for quite different and quite interesting reasons…. Love the video and the highlighting of my old home cities!
Never been to Pittsburgh but lived in Little Rock, AR for a few years and there were a TON of bridges connecting downtown to NLR. And can’t forget about the big damn bridge!!
The real reason Philadelphia has few bridges over the Delaware River isn't due to the state line, though it doesn't make it easier. It's the fact that the Delaware River is so much wider and deeper and has ship traffic. So any bridges have to be longer, taller and deeper piled, i.e. more expensive, than any of the bridges over the rivers in Pittsburgh. The Delaware River is about 1/2 mile wide in downtown Philadelphia, whereas the Monongahela and Allegheny are about 0.15 miles wide in downtown Pittsburgh.
Thanks for that info. I didn't consider that at all, but the Delaware is more of major river through Philly while Pittsburgh's rivers don't become the same level of "majorness" until after they form the Ohio.
the wideness of the river might be why the commodore Barry Bridge which connects chester delaware county pa to Logan twp Gloucester County NJ is the 4th largest cantilever bridge in the world
One area without the number of bridges that it is honestly needed and (as I have found out) causes headaches and driving out of the way to cross is the Potomac River and the Dc, va, md area. They have a bridgeophobia
The 4 main bridges over the Delaware River in Philly are much larger in size than Pittsburghs. Ben Franklin and Walt Whitman are 9750 ft and 11800 ft compared to the ones in Pittsburgh which are only 1200 ft. I find the Philly bridges cooler just on sheer size difference, also you didn’t mention the George C platt and Girard Point which cross over the Schuylkil river which are both pretty long as well.
Don't forget rail and the sheer commuter efficiency Philly has going for it across the Delaware River in addition to cars over Pittsburgh (even though Pittsburgh is also an awesome, underrated city). I'd be curious to see which city is more efficient in getting people across water boundaries controlled for per capita and per bridge length required...
The Delaware River bridges do have more of a "this bridge is a big deal" feel to them than Pittsburgh's that are "cooler". Kind of like Pennsylvania and Vermont.
This video made me. Curious about my own towns (Wichita) number of Bridges. Using Google maps I tried count all the transportation bridges within the cities limits. Mind you this is only the bridges over the cities two main rivers, both the little and big Arkansas rivers. There are many numerous other bridges that cross creeks or drainage channels. Just on the Arkansas Rivers I counted 42 crossings. I’m sure I’m not 100% accurate, but the result surprised me.
One slight note about crossing the Delaware River south of Philadelphia. In Chester before the Commodore Barry Bridge built in 1973 there was a ferry that connected Chester, PA and Bridgeport, NJ.
Very good presentation of an interesting topic. As a Californian, I like that relief you have in your office. I believe the one city noted on that wood cutout is Visalia, which is where my car broke down in the 1980s on the long trip from Southern California to Northern California. Plus I have that exact gecko on my front porch, although it is rather weather beaten from 15 years in the desert sun.
As a Pittsburgher I’m glad you pronounced Monongahela correctly. Also, there’s not a bad way to enter the city. The Ft. Pitt tunnel gets all the love and deservedly so. But there’s so many good views.
I'd argue coming in from 28 has always been on giant pain in the behind because I don't believe there's ever been a stretch of 28 that hasn't been under construction since it was opened, at least not in the last 50 years.
28 is a big pain in the butt. It has gotten slightly better now that they made a lane to bypass the light at the 32 Street bridge. But they need to do something with that on ramp from Millvale getting onto 28 North. It’s so short. I’m glad I live in the North Hills area and don’t have to deal with 376 or 28 traffic to often.
My personal favorite is coming down 279 because the city just comes out of no where when you come out of the bend. But the ft Pitt is definitely the more dramatic, and traumatic.
@@jasonhelfrich1223 Yeah, they fixed the 31st street problem thankfully. You know the #1 reason I wouldn't move back to Pittsburgh is PENDOT. I'm not kidding. I will visit and every time I do I see 12 people watching 2 people work and they never seem to fix anything, they just band-aid it for a couple years only for it to be a problem again. Job security. I don't know, I know no one from PENDOT so maybe this is an over-simplified armchair opinion but I've been to similar states with similar climates that seem to have their road game on lock.
Great video. Very interesting. In Philadelphia, I do believe you missed the Delair Rail Bridge that crosses the Delaware River near the Betsy Ross Bridge. That actually makes five bridges in Philly that cross the Delaware. Thank you for this video.
Nice video! Would you consider the Manayunk Bridge (SOOOO majestic) and other bridges nearby as part of Philly since Manayunk is officially a section of PHL and not its own city?
Philly has 3 bridges across the Schuylkill River 1 block apart, connecting center city to west Philly - Market St, Chestnut St, and Walnut St. And two more a few blocks away: Spring Garden St to the north, and South St bridge ro the south. Does that beat Pittsburgh's 3 sisters?
Philadelphia city limits are so much larger than Pittsburgh. Pgh has very small borders. Also the bridges in Philly are like highway overpasses. Tiny and they don’t have an architecture at all
How are the Philly bridges tiny? Walt Whitman Bridge is 12000 ft long one of the largest bridges on the East coast. Pittsburgh bridges are barely 1000 ft. Granted they are pretty with the yellow but the size isn’t anything impressive compared to Phillys which average at least 9000 sq ft in length- and there are at least 5 of them this large
@@Mpatterson409 it only spans about 2k feet. It is just long because it is a highway bridge and not just a city street like the bridges in Pittsburgh are. The Walt Whitman bridge basically acts as an elevated highway overpass that goes over the actual roads
every place ive ever lived and worked in my entire 41 years is in this picture @09:27 my current residence is named on the map @09:58 there are so many people here and so much traffic car, truck and even train on the ben franklin. there is ok public transport in the area aswell. there are so many people who cross those delaware river bridges for work everday and i'd even include the commodore barry bridge in the equation i think its close enough, its definitely in the delaware valley, anyways i've notably seen municipal waste in philadelphia with the casualties quite a few years ago like maybe 2007
One bridge city? Just crossing the Delaware from Philadelphia to NJ you have Tacony Palmyra on PA-73, Betsy Ross, Benjamin Franklin on I-676, and Walt Whitman on I-76. Then across the Schuylkill, we have Girard Point on I-95, the Platt Bridge on PA-291, Passyunk Ave Bridge, Grays Ferry Ave Bridge, University Ave Bridge, Schuylkill Expressway Bridge on I-76, South Street Bridge, Chestnut Street Bridge, Market Street Bridge, John F Kennedy Blvd Bridge, Vine Street Expressway Bridge, Spring Garden Street Bridge, West River Drive Bridge, Girard Ave Bridge (US 13), Strawberry Mansion Bridge, Twin Bridges (US 1), Falls Bridge, and City Ave Bridges. That's not counting railroad bridges over the Schuylkill. Now a lot of those are small, at least the Schuylkill bridges, but still more than 1. I'm making this comment before watching so you have covered some.
Counting the schulkyll and not the many ravines and valleys of Pittsburgh is just nuts. You didn’t even count the Oakland Duquesne exit that’s almost a quarter mile long and goes up almost a hundred feet of elevation to pop up at the bottom of Oakland. Not to mention it’s an exit off of a pretty big bridge itself
Well There’s Your Problem here in YT had a good episode on the wider Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia debate. I think it’s might be a patron episode, but the least expensive tier is less than 2 euro-bucks.
I have also heard that Pittsburgh has a 4th underground river that feeds the fountain at the point. Called the Wisconsin Glacial Flow. Not sure how true that is though.
That is true, the area is home to 80 trillion gallons of groundwater. Multiple wells drill in downtown supply many buildings and people for many uses, such as PPG Place, who uses the underground aquifer for heating and cooling -- a more useful application than extracting water, since it is only 30 feet below ground and is normally 50-54f
@@jasonhelfrich1223 I remember Paul Long reading a story about how the fountain at Three Rivers Stadium was fed by an underground river called the Upper Wisconsin Flow. Then he mused as to why it wasn't called Four Rivers Stadium.
The Delaware River is quite a bit wider than the rivers in PGH. I think that has a lot to do with it, as well. I dont think the Schuylkill River should really count anymore than our hollar bridges, which often have a wider span than anything across the Schuylkill. Interesting video. Did you forget the Glenwood Bridge, and Homestead Grays Bridge. I think they look no boros which have Pittsburgh zip codes. Those should count, also.
Surprised you left out the Platt and Girard Point bridges, they’re pretty major ones in the city. I-95 has several viaduct like sections too and so does Schuylkill Ave (road that goes over 76 by 30th street station)
Most of my time going to Pitt was south via 28, but dang if the view coming thru the Fort Pitt Tunnel isnt impressive. Oh im in the middle of no where hills of PA...boom! There's down town Pittsburgh!
I think you missed a few Mon River bridges. You definitely should have included the Glenwood Bridge and the Homestead Grays/Hi-Level Bridge. Both bridges connect a part of the city. Glenwood connects to Hazelwood and the Grays connects to Squirrel Hill. They're both major bridges. I'd also count the Rankin Bridge, but I can understand why you might not.
You should really do one on Bridges in Minneapolis or the Twin Cities as a whole. Because of the unique geographic features of the Mississippi River. St Paul was founded on the last navigable location along the river and thus has river bluffs and the noteworthy, "High Bridge," going from bluff to bluff mirroring what a waterfalls did when they reached across the bluffs thousands a years ago. As the falls retreated up-river it created the only natural gorge along it's length in Minneapolis. Thus there are a number of beautiful bridges spanning the gorge at a greater height then many urban bridges. Additionally there are bridges at the present-day location of St Anthony Falls as well over the lock and dam location. The Falls is why Minneapolis exists. Finally, past the Falls there are bridges more akin to those you see in normal urban areas crossing a normal looking river. The bridges within the Twin Cities tell the story of the river and history of the land and the two cities. The Stone Arch Bridge also probably has one of the best views of a skyline from a bridge. (See skyline and St Anthony Falls)
Philadelphia only has 4 bridges to NJ and its not enough i gotta drive 20 mins to go 0.5 miles, but these bridges are always moving at proper speeds no traffic…. My grandmom remembers when there were zero highways in Philadelphia and no bridges in her neighborhood so she never left the neighborhood…. You discussed how you have to drive 30 mins from bridge to bridge, but on the NJ side is just small towns, warehouses, landfills, and oil refineries
aLad - considering we can be 100% sure it’s being butchered now by people who think they know how to say it from the original Iroquois and its correct pronunciation, we can safely say he did a great job, especially from one not used to saying it. Great job.
@@noble604 Nope. Sorry. It doesn't work that way. Once a word is borrowed from one language into another, the loanword is now subject to the phonological rules of the borrower language. The rules of the loaning language no longer apply. Think of it like this: as long as you're in Pennsylvania, you're subject to the laws of Pennsylvania--but if you go to Ohio, you're no longer under Pennsylvania law--you're now under Ohio law. To get back to language, loanwords are also subject to the morphological rules of the borrower language. In Iroquois, the word "Monongahela" is made up of several morphemes--but in English, it's a single morpheme. The people who live along the banks of the Monongahela pronounce it muh-nahn-guh-HEE-luh--that is, until you get to Pittsburgh. The snooty people in Pittsburgh pronounce it muh-nahn-guh-HAY-luh--and then look down their noses at everyone who pronounces it the right way. They can take their affectation and stick it where the sun don't shine. Majority rules.
You mentioned that you believe the Three Sister’s bridges, which truly are a beautiful sight, are the closest three bridges of any city. And I measured them are you are just barely correct. In Philly, the Walnut, Chestnut and Market St bridges are also very close, but about 20 feet more spread out, if Three Sister’s are measured on the North Shore of Pittsburgh. In Philly, I have personally walked across the 34th St, South St, Walnut St, Chestnut St, Market St, JFK Blvd, Spring Garden St, MLK Blvd, Girard Ave, Strawberry Mansion St, Falls Bridge, Penncoyd and Manayunk bridges. I do know that Pittsburgh has the most public stairs of any city. By far, with Cincinnati second. Like this video.
About 45 miles (by River) North of Philly is a pedestrian only bridge across the Delaware River called the Lumberville-Raven Rock Bridge. It’s an intimidating bridge to walk.
There are less bridges over the Delaware river because it's huge compared to either the 3 rivers in Pittsburgh or the Schuylkill. Like 3 times as wide. Delaware is a big river.
You kind of pointed it out, but a lot of the Pittsburgh bridges that cross ravines (Bloomfield, Greenfield, New Fern Hollow, I-376 before the Squirrel Hill Tunnel, etc.) are probably bigger than those bridges over the Schuylkill, so I'm not sure why they don't count in the tally, but alas. Also, you pointed out the population difference, but as a native Pittsburgher, I feel obliged to point out that Philadelphia is also about 2.5 times bigger in area :-P
The bridges over ravines definitely do count as bridges in official tallies. For this video I was looking at major river bridges, since Philly doesn't have the same topography.
Imagine this comment will get buried, but you use differing methodologies for each river in Pittsburgh. what counts for A bridge in the city. do both sides of the bridge have to be in the city, does only one side have to be in the city? are we counting back channels? does a bridge that was used for rail count, but now is a bridge to nowhere since its been abandoned? do suburbs count? how far is 'just out side the city'? Using your differing standards you could get at minimum, 18 Bridges in Pittsburgh (your Monongahela standard), 27 Bridges in Pittsburgh (your Ohio standard), 33 Bridges in Pittsburgh (your Allegheny standard without back channels), or 38 Bridges in Pittsburgh (your Allegheny standard with back channels) -On the ALLEGHENY you count 7 automotive bridges that are entirely within the city, 2 rail road bridges entirely within the city, 3 automotive bridges that only have the south bank of the river in the city, the Hulton Bridge which I believe is 4.3 miles up stream as the river flows of the city limits, and 1 rail road bridge that is 300 ft span across the Allegheny back channel to Herrs island. You do not count the Brilliant Branch Railroad Bridge which spans the entire river and you do not count the 30th st bridge which also spans the Herrs island back channel. I'm going to assume you meant to include the Brilliant branch bridge, and not the Herrs island bridge and any other back channels. and that the standard for count on the ALLEGHENY was every bridge that crosses the entire river in the city limits, in the city on 1 side, and sufficiently near the city. - on the MONONGAHELA you count 7 automotive bridges that are entirely within the city, 2 railroad bridges that are entirely within the city, and 1 pedestrian bridge entirely within the city limits. you do not count the Homestead grays bridge which has the west or north bank side still in the city limits of the Pittsburgh. and you do not count the 4-5 bridges within 4.3 mile limit (Hulton st bridge standard) upstream from the city limits which I believe are the Pinkertons Landing Bridge, Carrie Furnace Bridge, Rankin Bridge, and the 2 Port Perry Bridges. note the Carrie furnace Bridge was abandoned when the Homestead steelworks closed and today carries no rail, automotive, or pedestrian traffic I'm going to assume your stand for the monongahela was to count every bridge that crosses the entire river, and has both sides within the city limits. - on the OHIO you count 2 bridges completely within the city limits, and the Mckeesrocks Bridge which only one side is with in city limits. you do not count any bridges completely outside the city limits. applying the 4.3 mile downstream of the city limits standard of the Hulton st bridge is tricky because there are 0 bridges over the main channel, however due to Nevile Island there are I believe 3 Bridges all over 900ft crossing the wide back channel of the ohio, the Flemming Park bridge, PC&Y RR bridge, and the Nevile Island bridge. Im going to assume your standard for the Ohio is every bridge that has 1 side in the city. edit - note at the end of the video you mention when comparing PGH to Philly that Pittburgh has 27 bridges, your ohio standard would also have 27 bridges, but it would not count the Hulton st bridge, or the Herrs island bridge, while also counting the Homestead Grays bridge, and the Brilliant Branch Railroad Bridge
Thank you for the comment. I was looking at bridges where at least one end of the bridge was in or very near the city limits but crosses the entire river. I did count the Glenwood and Homestead Grays bridges but didn't mention them in the video. I also counted the Hot Metal Bridge as one, even though it's technically two. I did mean the Brilliant Branch bridge and not the Herrs Island bridge since I was only counting ones that span the entire river. I think where I made the mistake was including the Hulton Bridge in the first place. I thought it was closer to the east end of the city limits and didn't apply the same standards for the other rivers, so 26 would be the correct number (or 27 if counting Hot Metal as 2). There's an equivalent to the Hulton in Philly (Burlington-Bristol) that I did not count for them.
Philadelphia could definitely use more bridges across the Delaware. The Walt Whitman is always backed up. But then again it's part of I-76 which is probably one of the worst interstates in the country. If I'm going to shore and I'm not in a hurry, I drive down to Chester and go over the Commodore Barry bridge. The route is a little more scenic going that way anyway.
the Walt Whitman and betsy Ross bridges do not service downtown. in fact the Walt Whitman Bridge is at the very edge of the city. I wish you included bridges crossing the wissahickon, especially considering how massive and tall they are from the ground. the walnut lane Bridge is one of the city's most famous and it doesn't even get a mention :(
also if you're including bridges that exit the city to the east why aren't u including bridges that cross Cobbs creek which is the city's western boundary
The Walnut Lane Bridge has an equally impressive twin, the Henry Avenue Bridge. And, though small, the only covered bridge inside a U.S. city, is the Thomas Mill Road Bridge over the Wissahickon Creek. And, if my memory is correct, the oldest bridge in use in the U.S., in the northeast part of the city (maybe Fox Chase?), dating from the late 1700s.
The bridges over the three rivers confluence create such a stunning vista. Coming down from the Incline, the view is simply breathtaking!
The seemingly endless stretch of tree-covered hills in the city is one of my favorite parts about living in Pittsburgh. So many good views. I haven’t been to another city with so much greenery.
@@thedapperdolphin1590 Nashville and Birmingham are both like that!
We're going to be in Pittsburgh for the first time next week. Looking forward to exploring it! Thanks!
“Most PennDOT thing ever” is a nice touch! Kyle, did you know there is also a road to nowhere in Lancaster? They built all the overpasses for a 4 lane highway, then ran out of money. It remained mostly an unpaved road and we all call it the “Goat Path” because it’s inhabited by farm animals.
I ROFL'd so hard 😂 🌁
I've seen more questionable road construction decisions/projects in PA than just about everywhere except maybe Michigan.
i95 in Philadelphia had those unfinished overpasses around Port Richmond and bridesburg for years. Lancaster is definitely still a beautiful area I have some family out there I'm always happy to visit them
@@GeographyKing Sigh. We are a laughingstock in this regard. If fairness, I think we have the most highway miles in the country, but still PennDOT is a complete joke.
IS THAT WHAT THAT IS???
The bridges in Chicago look really cool with skyscrapers towering on either side. Only the bridges themselves arent quite as large or spectacular as Pittsburgh. I've never been, but I hear the views coming out of the tunnels into downtown are a sight to behold.
Great video, Kyle! Although you didn't mention the bridges over the Schuylkill River, the one that lies behind the famous Philadelphia Museum of Art (the Rocky steps), which is known as the Spring Garden Street Bridge was designed by my father, Richard Wisniewski. He passed in 2013 having not known that he was "famous", as his name appears in the Wikipedia article about the bridge! He designed it straight out of college using a slide rule in the early sixties and it was opened in 1966.
-Rick W
That's really cool
I live in Ohio now and took a trip to Pittsburgh a dozen months ago or so. I went into the tunnel and was stunned when I emerged on a bridge flying into downtown. It was amazing. Gorgeous bridges everywhere!
The bridges are a bit challenging to navigate if you’re new to the area. Traffic is unforgiving when you’ve got to suddenly merge on an approach ramp and cross lanes to get to where you need to be. But I’m still looking forward to a return visit at some point just to see and photograph some of the bridges.
On the flipity flop, I’ve no plan to visit Philly for their bridges. Liberty Bell and historic buildings perhaps, but prolly not their bridges. 🤷🏻♂️
That view when you come out of the tunnel and straight on the bridge, which Pittsburgh suddenly right in front of you, is hands down on of the most beautiful city skyline views in the world. The way it comes out of nowhere just adds to the punch.
it's nearly impossible to compare phl to those incoming pbrg views but the skyline views of center city phl both directions of i95 coming over the ben Franklin or Walt Whitman or from the Schuylkill expressway aren't half bad
Pittsburgh has a road system that's a challenge to navigate even if you've been there for years.
@@savannah115 Make sure you come out of the Fort Pitt tunnel both in the day And at night. The view at night with all the lights is amazing.
You are absolutely right about the bridges being difficult to navigate. I lived in Pittsburgh for 2 years, count myself excellent with directions, but I was constantly in the wrong lane and ending up where I did not want to go. Regardless, the city is awesome.
I'm a native Yinzer (Pittsburgher) who lived in Philly for years. This video couldn't be more homer, so thanks!
It's Rachel Carson, not Carlson. Rachel Carson was the environmentalist and the bridge's namesake. Also, the traffic going up river on the Allegheny is always horrible. Just an FYI for anyone visiting here.
I heard him say Carson
No I heard CarLson too. Rachel Carson is correct. @@jskelly1979
The bridge in Chester, the Commodore Barry Bridge, replaced a wonderful car ferry. As a teenager in the late 60's I have fond memories of taking the ferry across in my rebuilt 1929 Model A. On the way to Ocean City, NJ and the southern Jersey shore. It was a sad day for me, I morned for years, when that bridge was built.
Most of the modern bridges built in Pittsburgh were specifically built in different styles. Rumor has it this was done as a "showroom" to display different techniques and styles that Pittsburgh's steel industry was capable of building.
Everyone always talks about coming into the city via the tunnel and Duquesne bridge from the south but I live north so we always came in from 79 to 279 so my first view of the city was always going under the Swindell Bridge and turning the corner and the city would pop out behind the hills.
279 is good view. I would always come down rt. 65. Once you get passed the McKees Rocks bridge and make the one bend, the city just opens up. It’s a cool view.
Hi, Kyle. I really enjoy your videos, especially the variety of topics you cover. I live in Vancouver, WA, and would love to see a video about the bridges of Portland, OR and the nearby Columbia River.
As far as whether there are really 3 rivers, I do know that on some days you can see where the Monongahela and the Allegheny come together and create a line straight up the middle pointing toward the Ohio. It's visible since the Mon is a lot muddier than the Allegheny.
Pittsburgh does claim to fame the number of public steps-over 800 sets. Which you mentioned in your prior video and I agree that it’s a city best seen on foot
Great for walking and staying in shape, but after a lot of walking to then face one of those staircases can be rough.
It’s about time somebody pointed out that Pittsburgh really has 2 major rivers, not 3!
I walked across the Smithfield St Bridge in Pittsburgh coming from seeing a spectacular view of downtown from up along Grand View and then going down the Monongahela Incline, very cool stuff. My hotel was right on the other side of the bridge. That was almost a year ago, but now I'm definitely going to seek out some of the bridges in Philly when I go there for the 1st time probably in 2025.
My biggest question though is what is the record for the number of times saying the word "bridge" in a video?😂 This is has got to be one of the greatest performances of all time.
Great video - your videos are always so much fun. It was neat seeing my old hometown of Philly - traveled so many of those bridges living in Philly and Bucks County - we used to go over to New Jersey all the time to get full-service cheaper gasoline :) By the way, great pronunciation of many difficult river names!!
I don't even know how many times I've been over the bridge from New Hope to Lambertville. Probably hundreds since I live in PA and had friends in Lambertville.
Oh boy, now you've got me investigating how many legitimate bridges we have in Boston. Project!
I've traveled extensively to Pittsburgh 90+ times and am from SJ and commuted to Philly for years and years. I can talk about both. Id say that they both have their ups and downs traffic wise, but Pittsburgh is always going to have the fort Pitt bridge tunnel choke point as well as the squirrel Hill tunnel and viaduct choke points. Phillys major bridges across the Delaware would have less traffic during rush hours if the tolls / PA arriving lanes had better structure and exit designs. The ben Franklin dumps you into a big traffic circle and has traffic lights... On the interstate. This will always cause disruption to your regular highway speeds, but never truly having crazy bumper to bumper traffic. The Schuylkill expressway is a different story
Great video!
Awesome comment, I'm from Glassboro. I went to college in Pittsburgh , then Lived in Philly for 10 years.. safe to say I crossed about 90% of the bridges in both cities..
Thanks for the insider info. When I visit Pittsburgh I almost exclusively walk, but as a pedestrian viewing traffic flow it doesn't seem to help that there are so many bridges. It ends up being more stoplights and stop-n-go to get on the bridges and maybe not any more efficient. But one negative about fewer bridges is that one major car accident on one of them can cause huge delays with fewer other options.
I've lived basically along the Delaware my entire life started in Delco pa to Gloucester County nj and now I'm in camden county NJ
Nearby Pittsburgh is the town of Ambridge, Pa named after the American Bridge Company, but as near as I can tell they didn’t build any bridges in Pittsburgh. They did however build the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan!
Philadelphia has the oldest bridge in the western hemisphere. Its a stone bridge from the early 1600s on what is now Frankford av (RT-13) formally the Kings Highway.
First time I drove into Pittsburgh and got there at midnight in 1996. Went to photgraph Allegheny Cemetery. Looked for a hotel and saw a cop car at a 7 Eleven. Stopped ad asked directions. Cop says, first... you are in a dangerous area for your color (Light). Then he told me where to drive for a good hotel. In Philly on the same trip my Retal Car was pounded on by some jerk on the street when I slowed. Traveled Asia and Europe but felt less safe in my own country and I lived in Oaland at the time which was fine...mostly. Not so much these days.
I love Pittsburgh. I'd move there if it wasn't so cold. New York is cold enough for me.
A couple things... for the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, Palmyra is pernounced Pal"my"ra. I grew up in Palmyra almost next to the bridge and have many stories about it.
A bridge you forgot about and its probably the most important bridge over the Delaware River is the "Delair RR Bridge" built in 1895. It carries NJ TRANSIT'S Atlantic City Line as well as handles ALL of South Jerseys freight traffic. That is the ONLY entry for any rail equipment in South Jersey. But good video tho!
Guess I lost if you only count river bridges. Wikipedia lists quite a few overlands. Oh well.
I've been over at least half of Pittsburgh's river bridges, although not the Hot Metal bridge, which looks way cool. I think you left out the Homestead Bridge over the Monongahela, which goes from Pittsburgh to Homestead.
Another major ravine bridge is the Bloomfield Bridge, and there are smaller ravine bridges on Murray Avenue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood and Forbes Avenue in Oakland plus I think the J.P. McArdle (sp?) Roadway going up the side of Mount Washington has at least one as well. I've been over those ravine bridges plus the two ravine bridges you mentioned, including the one that collapsed.
Awesome video, dude. I live in Akron currently, but I've been to Pittsburgh many times and I had lived a few miles away from the Schuylkill for a time. I have traversed the area surrounding Philly much. Thanks for the fun facts. Love the channel.
Pittsburgh is my favorite medium sized city. The have great museums and culture, and it's really lovely.
I can't quite explain why, but just from Kyle's videos, the city reminds me of my favourite city in my native Germany: Halle an der Saale (an der Saale = upon Saale river)
It is one of those underrated medium sized cities, just like Pittsburgh. It has the Saale, which is a fairly big river, but one of my favourite features of it are the many small channels with water flowing through the city, being populated by Nutrias, a big rodent. You can easily spot and watch them, pretty cute. Also the famous composer Händel was born and studied there.
I have never been to the USA, but if I ever go, I def wanna see Pittsburgh!
@@muenchhausenmusic Thank you for this comment! I'm from Pittsburgh and I've never been across the Atlantic ocean, but next year I will be visiting Germany for two weeks and now I want to add Halle an der Saale to my travel plans. It looks lovely on google street view - walkable neighborhoods with plenty of trees and green spaces, just like Pittsburgh!
I hope you get the chance to visit my home city some day as well, cheers.
Great video! I've lived all my life in the Philadelphia area, and my husband is from the Pittsburgh area, so we are well acquainted with all the bridges. I remember the Betsy Ross Bridge opening in 1976 for the Bicentennial and the building of the Commodore Barry Bridge, which replaced the ferry between Bridgeport and Chester, PA. I remember taking that ferry.
"my" in Palmyra is pronounced to rhyme with "why", not "ee".
Thanks!
@@GeographyKing That was my favorite bridge as a little kid. We crossed it frequently. It has a big semicircle-shaped frame, and part of it is a grating that makes a humming sound when you drive over it. We called it the "hum bridge". Back then (1960s) the toll was 5 or 10 cents.
I'm from the philly suburbs, and I went to college in pittsburgh for 4 years. Pittsburgh has far better bridges, mostly because all of our bridges lead to camden NJ, which only has 1. The aquarium, and 2. Stolen cars that needed to be dropped off somewhere quick. The ben franklin is epic though. It's worth mentioning that sometime in 2021, Biden was due for a talk on infrastructure in Pittsburgh, and the day before this happened, a bridge collapsed with a bus on it. And last summer, Biden was due for a similar talk in Philadelphia and that was the day after i95 fully collapsed after a tanker fire. I imagine next he'll schedule a rally in Harrisburg and someone's car will be swallowed whole by a particularly mean pothole the day before.
Oh, your drone video up the Schuylkill River reminds me there's yet another bridge just 1 block north of Market St - not sure what it's called, but it continues JFK Boulevard across the Schuylkill to connect with 30th Street Station on the west side of the river.
That's 4 bridges just 1 block apart! That beats Pittsburgh's 6-8-9 trio!
Had the privilege of living in both of these amazing cities. I crossed both the Anderson Bridge in Pgh and the Manayunk Bridge on Philly nearly on the daily. Both are now pedestrian bridges- though for quite different and quite interesting reasons…. Love the video and the highlighting of my old home cities!
Never been to Pittsburgh but lived in Little Rock, AR for a few years and there were a TON of bridges connecting downtown to NLR. And can’t forget about the big damn bridge!!
I’ve always wanted to go on vacation in Pittsburgh looks like a beautiful city
The real reason Philadelphia has few bridges over the Delaware River isn't due to the state line, though it doesn't make it easier.
It's the fact that the Delaware River is so much wider and deeper and has ship traffic. So any bridges have to be longer, taller and deeper piled, i.e. more expensive, than any of the bridges over the rivers in Pittsburgh.
The Delaware River is about 1/2 mile wide in downtown Philadelphia, whereas the Monongahela and Allegheny are about 0.15 miles wide in downtown Pittsburgh.
And there has always been issues with how they are funded and who takes care of they.
Coal barges vs container ships
You gotta pay NJ toll but pa to nj is free, so i take the cheaper bridge going into PA
Thanks for that info. I didn't consider that at all, but the Delaware is more of major river through Philly while Pittsburgh's rivers don't become the same level of "majorness" until after they form the Ohio.
the wideness of the river might be why the commodore Barry Bridge which connects chester delaware county pa to Logan twp Gloucester County NJ is the 4th largest cantilever bridge in the world
One area without the number of bridges that it is honestly needed and (as I have found out) causes headaches and driving out of the way to cross is the Potomac River and the Dc, va, md area. They have a bridgeophobia
The 4 main bridges over the Delaware River in Philly are much larger in size than Pittsburghs. Ben Franklin and Walt Whitman are 9750 ft and 11800 ft compared to the ones in Pittsburgh which are only 1200 ft. I find the Philly bridges cooler just on sheer size difference, also you didn’t mention the George C platt and Girard Point which cross over the Schuylkil river which are both pretty long as well.
Don't forget rail and the sheer commuter efficiency Philly has going for it across the Delaware River in addition to cars over Pittsburgh (even though Pittsburgh is also an awesome, underrated city). I'd be curious to see which city is more efficient in getting people across water boundaries controlled for per capita and per bridge length required...
The Delaware River bridges do have more of a "this bridge is a big deal" feel to them than Pittsburgh's that are "cooler". Kind of like Pennsylvania and Vermont.
@@GeographyKing What do you mean when you say kind of like PA and Vermont ?
This video made me. Curious about my own towns (Wichita) number of Bridges. Using Google maps I tried count all the transportation bridges within the cities limits. Mind you this is only the bridges over the cities two main rivers, both the little and big Arkansas rivers. There are many numerous other bridges that cross creeks or drainage channels. Just on the Arkansas Rivers I counted 42 crossings. I’m sure I’m not 100% accurate, but the result surprised me.
And the Arkansas river is not as wide as some of these other rivers.
Im from philly area but never spent time in Pittsburgh-just passed through. The bridges in Pittsburgh are gorgeous.
One slight note about crossing the Delaware River south of Philadelphia. In Chester before the Commodore Barry Bridge built in 1973 there was a ferry that connected Chester, PA and Bridgeport, NJ.
I love the Philly Bridges, we’re really not known for them, but they are stately and pretty especially the Ben Franklin
Love to see the Falls Bridge on your channel. I loved living in that neighborhood so much
Good eye on the Municipal Waste Album!
Philly has some iconic bridges. Betsy Ross Ben Franklin Walt Whitman.
Kudos for pronouncing Schuylkill properly.
Great video! I really enjoyed watching!
Love the deep dives, thanks
Very good presentation of an interesting topic. As a Californian, I like that relief you have in your office. I believe the one city noted on that wood cutout is Visalia, which is where my car broke down in the 1980s on the long trip from Southern California to Northern California. Plus I have that exact gecko on my front porch, although it is rather weather beaten from 15 years in the desert sun.
Pittsburgh mentioned! Raaah
Great video Kyle! As a "nerd" you may appreciate this suggestion or run away screaming. How about adding up all the bridge-feet to decide the winner?
Another great video upload. Thanks Kyle
That was awesome.
Thanks!
Thanks for posting this video good stuff!
As a Pittsburgher I’m glad you pronounced Monongahela correctly. Also, there’s not a bad way to enter the city. The Ft. Pitt tunnel gets all the love and deservedly so. But there’s so many good views.
I'd argue coming in from 28 has always been on giant pain in the behind because I don't believe there's ever been a stretch of 28 that hasn't been under construction since it was opened, at least not in the last 50 years.
28 is a big pain in the butt. It has gotten slightly better now that they made a lane to bypass the light at the 32 Street bridge. But they need to do something with that on ramp from Millvale getting onto 28 North. It’s so short. I’m glad I live in the North Hills area and don’t have to deal with 376 or 28 traffic to often.
My personal favorite is coming down 279 because the city just comes out of no where when you come out of the bend. But the ft Pitt is definitely the more dramatic, and traumatic.
Nope. He mispronounced "Monongahela" every time. I couldn't stop wincing.
@@jasonhelfrich1223 Yeah, they fixed the 31st street problem thankfully. You know the #1 reason I wouldn't move back to Pittsburgh is PENDOT. I'm not kidding.
I will visit and every time I do I see 12 people watching 2 people work and they never seem to fix anything, they just band-aid it for a couple years only for it to be a problem again. Job security. I don't know, I know no one from PENDOT so maybe this is an over-simplified armchair opinion but I've been to similar states with similar climates that seem to have their road game on lock.
Great video. Very interesting. In Philadelphia, I do believe you missed the Delair Rail Bridge that crosses the Delaware River near the Betsy Ross Bridge. That actually makes five bridges in Philly that cross the Delaware.
Thank you for this video.
Chicago has a ton of bridges though not nearly as long. The central “loop” alone has about 20. And they all lift up to allow sail boats through.
I like those downtown street bridges over the Chicago River. They have an elegant Venice-like feel to them.
The "Hot Metal Bridge" is my favorite origin story for a Pittsburgh bridge.
Nice video! Would you consider the Manayunk Bridge (SOOOO majestic) and other bridges nearby as part of Philly since Manayunk is officially a section of PHL and not its own city?
Philly has 3 bridges across the Schuylkill River 1 block apart, connecting center city to west Philly - Market St, Chestnut St, and Walnut St. And two more a few blocks away: Spring Garden St to the north, and South St bridge ro the south.
Does that beat Pittsburgh's 3 sisters?
Philadelphia city limits are so much larger than Pittsburgh. Pgh has very small borders. Also the bridges in Philly are like highway overpasses. Tiny and they don’t have an architecture at all
How are the Philly bridges tiny? Walt Whitman Bridge is 12000 ft long one of the largest bridges on the East coast. Pittsburgh bridges are barely 1000 ft. Granted they are pretty with the yellow but the size isn’t anything impressive compared to Phillys which average at least 9000 sq ft in length- and there are at least 5 of them this large
@@Mpatterson409 it only spans about 2k feet. It is just long because it is a highway bridge and not just a city street like the bridges in Pittsburgh are. The Walt Whitman bridge basically acts as an elevated highway overpass that goes over the actual roads
every place ive ever lived and worked in my entire 41 years is in this picture @09:27 my current residence is named on the map @09:58 there are so many people here and so much traffic car, truck and even train on the ben franklin. there is ok public transport in the area aswell. there are so many people who cross those delaware river bridges for work everday and i'd even include the commodore barry bridge in the equation i think its close enough, its definitely in the delaware valley, anyways i've notably seen municipal waste in philadelphia with the casualties quite a few years ago like maybe 2007
One bridge city? Just crossing the Delaware from Philadelphia to NJ you have Tacony Palmyra on PA-73, Betsy Ross, Benjamin Franklin on I-676, and Walt Whitman on I-76. Then across the Schuylkill, we have Girard Point on I-95, the Platt Bridge on PA-291, Passyunk Ave Bridge, Grays Ferry Ave Bridge, University Ave Bridge, Schuylkill Expressway Bridge on I-76, South Street Bridge, Chestnut Street Bridge, Market Street Bridge, John F Kennedy Blvd Bridge, Vine Street Expressway Bridge, Spring Garden Street Bridge, West River Drive Bridge, Girard Ave Bridge (US 13), Strawberry Mansion Bridge, Twin Bridges (US 1), Falls Bridge, and City Ave Bridges. That's not counting railroad bridges over the Schuylkill. Now a lot of those are small, at least the Schuylkill bridges, but still more than 1. I'm making this comment before watching so you have covered some.
I agree about the Rankin Bridge, but the other two connect to city neighborhoods!
How does twin cities compare?
Trivia MN has more Mississippi bridges vs. the rest of it's length
Counting the schulkyll and not the many ravines and valleys of Pittsburgh is just nuts. You didn’t even count the Oakland Duquesne exit that’s almost a quarter mile long and goes up almost a hundred feet of elevation to pop up at the bottom of Oakland. Not to mention it’s an exit off of a pretty big bridge itself
Damm I grew up in Philly. It's no way I realized or thought there are 30 bridges crossing the Schuyhill River. I struggle even now to visualize this.
Philadelphia has the most, but somewhere else gets the reputation and fame. That's the story of Philadelphia.
This statement is so true!
Well There’s Your Problem here in YT had a good episode on the wider Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia debate. I think it’s might be a patron episode, but the least expensive tier is less than 2 euro-bucks.
Cleveland has a surprising number of bridges
I have also heard that Pittsburgh has a 4th underground river that feeds the fountain at the point. Called the Wisconsin Glacial Flow. Not sure how true that is though.
That is true, the area is home to 80 trillion gallons of groundwater.
Multiple wells drill in downtown supply many buildings and people for many uses, such as PPG Place, who uses the underground aquifer for heating and cooling -- a more useful application than extracting water, since it is only 30 feet below ground and is normally 50-54f
Paul Long called it the "Upper Wisconsin Flow."
@@aLadNamedNathan All I know is it had the word Wisconsin 😊
@@jasonhelfrich1223 I remember Paul Long reading a story about how the fountain at Three Rivers Stadium was fed by an underground river called the Upper Wisconsin Flow. Then he mused as to why it wasn't called Four Rivers Stadium.
The Delaware River is quite a bit wider than the rivers in PGH. I think that has a lot to do with it, as well. I dont think the Schuylkill River should really count anymore than our hollar bridges, which often have a wider span than anything across the Schuylkill. Interesting video. Did you forget the Glenwood Bridge, and Homestead Grays Bridge. I think they look no boros which have Pittsburgh zip codes. Those should count, also.
Surprised you left out the Platt and Girard Point bridges, they’re pretty major ones in the city. I-95 has several viaduct like sections too and so does Schuylkill Ave (road that goes over 76 by 30th street station)
Great topic.
Thank you.
*Rachel Carson, not Carlson. 😉
pittsburgh has cooler bridges but if you're counting all kinds of tiny bridges on roads, philly has a lot more simply because it's bigger
Interesting
Most of my time going to Pitt was south via 28, but dang if the view coming thru the Fort Pitt Tunnel isnt impressive. Oh im in the middle of no where hills of PA...boom! There's down town Pittsburgh!
You left out the Glenwood bridge (route 885) and the Homestead Grays bridge, both crossing the Mon.
I think you missed a few Mon River bridges. You definitely should have included the Glenwood Bridge and the Homestead Grays/Hi-Level Bridge. Both bridges connect a part of the city. Glenwood connects to Hazelwood and the Grays connects to Squirrel Hill. They're both major bridges. I'd also count the Rankin Bridge, but I can understand why you might not.
They are not in the city limits
You should really do one on Bridges in Minneapolis or the Twin Cities as a whole. Because of the unique geographic features of the Mississippi River. St Paul was founded on the last navigable location along the river and thus has river bluffs and the noteworthy, "High Bridge," going from bluff to bluff mirroring what a waterfalls did when they reached across the bluffs thousands a years ago. As the falls retreated up-river it created the only natural gorge along it's length in Minneapolis. Thus there are a number of beautiful bridges spanning the gorge at a greater height then many urban bridges. Additionally there are bridges at the present-day location of St Anthony Falls as well over the lock and dam location. The Falls is why Minneapolis exists. Finally, past the Falls there are bridges more akin to those you see in normal urban areas crossing a normal looking river.
The bridges within the Twin Cities tell the story of the river and history of the land and the two cities. The Stone Arch Bridge also probably has one of the best views of a skyline from a bridge. (See skyline and St Anthony Falls)
I was today years old when I learned what fluvial geomorphology means 🤓😄
How Do you Forget the Commadore John Barry Bridge South of Phila.....
It Just Douth of the Phila Airport! 🇺🇲
"What happened to Captain Tom?"
"Uhh, Captain Tom turned out to be a god damn junkie!"
My favourite line of the whole series, and that's saying a lot.
Great video idea!!
Philadelphia only has 4 bridges to NJ and its not enough i gotta drive 20 mins to go 0.5 miles, but these bridges are always moving at proper speeds no traffic…. My grandmom remembers when there were zero highways in Philadelphia and no bridges in her neighborhood so she never left the neighborhood…. You discussed how you have to drive 30 mins from bridge to bridge, but on the NJ side is just small towns, warehouses, landfills, and oil refineries
Municipal Waste!!!! Love that band.
Love hearing you trying to pronounce the Monongahela River. Most locals call it the Mon.
I'd rather hear it pronounced "Monkey Healy" rather than the way Kyle butchered it. Like nails on a chalkboard!
aLad - considering we can be 100% sure it’s being butchered now by people who think they know how to say it from the original Iroquois and its correct pronunciation, we can safely say he did a great job, especially from one not used to saying it. Great job.
@@noble604 Nope. Sorry. It doesn't work that way. Once a word is borrowed from one language into another, the loanword is now subject to the phonological rules of the borrower language. The rules of the loaning language no longer apply. Think of it like this: as long as you're in Pennsylvania, you're subject to the laws of Pennsylvania--but if you go to Ohio, you're no longer under Pennsylvania law--you're now under Ohio law. To get back to language, loanwords are also subject to the morphological rules of the borrower language. In Iroquois, the word "Monongahela" is made up of several morphemes--but in English, it's a single morpheme.
The people who live along the banks of the Monongahela pronounce it muh-nahn-guh-HEE-luh--that is, until you get to Pittsburgh. The snooty people in Pittsburgh pronounce it muh-nahn-guh-HAY-luh--and then look down their noses at everyone who pronounces it the right way. They can take their affectation and stick it where the sun don't shine. Majority rules.
aLad - be sure to email all that to the Iroquois.😂 😂
@@noble604 Slacker.
great content,thanks
You missed all of Pittsburghs small bridges. There are an incredible amount. Bridges crossing tributaries, bridges crossing roads.
one would naturally say pittsburgh but let’s see what this video states!
You mentioned that you believe the Three Sister’s bridges, which truly are a beautiful sight, are the closest three bridges of any city. And I measured them are you are just barely correct. In Philly, the Walnut, Chestnut and Market St bridges are also very close, but about 20 feet more spread out, if Three Sister’s are measured on the North Shore of Pittsburgh.
In Philly, I have personally walked across the 34th St, South St, Walnut St, Chestnut St, Market St, JFK Blvd, Spring Garden St, MLK Blvd, Girard Ave, Strawberry Mansion St, Falls Bridge, Penncoyd and Manayunk bridges.
I do know that Pittsburgh has the most public stairs of any city. By far, with Cincinnati second. Like this video.
About 45 miles (by River) North of Philly is a pedestrian only bridge across the Delaware River called the Lumberville-Raven Rock Bridge. It’s an intimidating bridge to walk.
Pittsburgh is certainly striking with all those bridges
Pittsburgh wins the most bridges clearly, but Philadelphia has more population and skyscrapers.
Cheers from Norway
There are less bridges over the Delaware river because it's huge compared to either the 3 rivers in Pittsburgh or the Schuylkill. Like 3 times as wide.
Delaware is a big river.
You kind of pointed it out, but a lot of the Pittsburgh bridges that cross ravines (Bloomfield, Greenfield, New Fern Hollow, I-376 before the Squirrel Hill Tunnel, etc.) are probably bigger than those bridges over the Schuylkill, so I'm not sure why they don't count in the tally, but alas. Also, you pointed out the population difference, but as a native Pittsburgher, I feel obliged to point out that Philadelphia is also about 2.5 times bigger in area :-P
The bridges over ravines definitely do count as bridges in official tallies. For this video I was looking at major river bridges, since Philly doesn't have the same topography.
Municipal Waste. I'm not the biggest fan but I did see them a while back.
Kyle, other places where a major river starts from two big rivers merging?
Imagine this comment will get buried, but you use differing methodologies for each river in Pittsburgh.
what counts for A bridge in the city. do both sides of the bridge have to be in the city, does only one side have to be in the city? are we counting back channels? does a bridge that was used for rail count, but now is a bridge to nowhere since its been abandoned? do suburbs count? how far is 'just out side the city'?
Using your differing standards you could get at minimum, 18 Bridges in Pittsburgh (your Monongahela standard), 27 Bridges in Pittsburgh (your Ohio standard), 33 Bridges in Pittsburgh (your Allegheny standard without back channels), or 38 Bridges in Pittsburgh (your Allegheny standard with back channels)
-On the ALLEGHENY you count 7 automotive bridges that are entirely within the city, 2 rail road bridges entirely within the city, 3 automotive bridges that only have the south bank of the river in the city, the Hulton Bridge which I believe is 4.3 miles up stream as the river flows of the city limits, and 1 rail road bridge that is 300 ft span across the Allegheny back channel to Herrs island.
You do not count the Brilliant Branch Railroad Bridge which spans the entire river and you do not count the 30th st bridge which also spans the Herrs island back channel.
I'm going to assume you meant to include the Brilliant branch bridge, and not the Herrs island bridge and any other back channels. and that the standard for count on the ALLEGHENY was every bridge that crosses the entire river in the city limits, in the city on 1 side, and sufficiently near the city.
- on the MONONGAHELA you count 7 automotive bridges that are entirely within the city, 2 railroad bridges that are entirely within the city, and 1 pedestrian bridge entirely within the city limits.
you do not count the Homestead grays bridge which has the west or north bank side still in the city limits of the Pittsburgh. and you do not count the 4-5 bridges within 4.3 mile limit (Hulton st bridge standard) upstream from the city limits which I believe are the Pinkertons Landing Bridge, Carrie Furnace Bridge, Rankin Bridge, and the 2 Port Perry Bridges. note the Carrie furnace Bridge was abandoned when the Homestead steelworks closed and today carries no rail, automotive, or pedestrian traffic
I'm going to assume your stand for the monongahela was to count every bridge that crosses the entire river, and has both sides within the city limits.
- on the OHIO you count 2 bridges completely within the city limits, and the Mckeesrocks Bridge which only one side is with in city limits.
you do not count any bridges completely outside the city limits. applying the 4.3 mile downstream of the city limits standard of the Hulton st bridge is tricky because there are 0 bridges over the main channel, however due to Nevile Island there are I believe 3 Bridges all over 900ft crossing the wide back channel of the ohio, the Flemming Park bridge, PC&Y RR bridge, and the Nevile Island bridge.
Im going to assume your standard for the Ohio is every bridge that has 1 side in the city.
edit - note at the end of the video you mention when comparing PGH to Philly that Pittburgh has 27 bridges, your ohio standard would also have 27 bridges, but it would not count the Hulton st bridge, or the Herrs island bridge, while also counting the Homestead Grays bridge, and the Brilliant Branch Railroad Bridge
Thank you for the comment. I was looking at bridges where at least one end of the bridge was in or very near the city limits but crosses the entire river. I did count the Glenwood and Homestead Grays bridges but didn't mention them in the video. I also counted the Hot Metal Bridge as one, even though it's technically two. I did mean the Brilliant Branch bridge and not the Herrs Island bridge since I was only counting ones that span the entire river. I think where I made the mistake was including the Hulton Bridge in the first place. I thought it was closer to the east end of the city limits and didn't apply the same standards for the other rivers, so 26 would be the correct number (or 27 if counting Hot Metal as 2). There's an equivalent to the Hulton in Philly (Burlington-Bristol) that I did not count for them.
Philadelphia could definitely use more bridges across the Delaware. The Walt Whitman is always backed up. But then again it's part of I-76 which is probably one of the worst interstates in the country. If I'm going to shore and I'm not in a hurry, I drive down to Chester and go over the Commodore Barry bridge. The route is a little more scenic going that way anyway.
the Walt Whitman and betsy Ross bridges do not service downtown. in fact the Walt Whitman Bridge is at the very edge of the city. I wish you included bridges crossing the wissahickon, especially considering how massive and tall they are from the ground. the walnut lane Bridge is one of the city's most famous and it doesn't even get a mention :(
also if you're including bridges that exit the city to the east why aren't u including bridges that cross Cobbs creek which is the city's western boundary
The Walnut Lane Bridge has an equally impressive twin, the Henry Avenue Bridge. And, though small, the only covered bridge inside a U.S. city, is the Thomas Mill Road Bridge over the Wissahickon Creek. And, if my memory is correct, the oldest bridge in use in the U.S., in the northeast part of the city (maybe Fox Chase?), dating from the late 1700s.