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Deck project under way at Kinzua Bridge State Park |
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Written by Publisher
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Thursday, 22 October 2009 |
Photo by Ted Lutz
This section of the Kinzua Bridge State Park near Mt. Jewett is closed during a project to add an observation deck atop six towers for the bridge. The park still is open to the public. It's only a short walk from a public parking lot to observation areas.
MT. JEWETT – Work is under way to construct a glass-floored observation deck atop six park-side support towers at the Kinzua Bridge State Park near Mt. Jewett.
Construction trailers and equipment line the main parking lot, which is surrounded by a metal fence and is closed to the public.
The park still remains open with parking available in the “overflow” parking lot. Visitors can walk along a short path from the “overflow” parking lot to existing observation platforms to view the Kinzua Creek valley and what’s left of the historic bridge.
One or more tornadoes on July 21, 2003, toppled the midsection of the bridge, which when erected in 1882 was the highest railroad bridge in the world. It stood 301 feet above the headwaters of the Kinzua Creek, which flows into the Allegheny Reservoir.
J.D. Eckman Construction of Atglen, Pa. is the contractor for the park project, which may not be completed until late next summer.
Preliminary work calls for the stabilization of the six remaining park-side towers, which once supported the bridge. Then a platform will be constructed on top of the towers.
This glass-floored deck will permit park visitors to view the valley and see the twisted steel remnants of the bridge. Visitors also will see the remaining towers standing on the opposite end of the valley. The midsection of the bridge lies in the valley in pieces that resemble a child’s toy erector set. Trees ripped up by the tornadoes also lie at random on the steep gorge banks like giant matchsticks tossed to the floor.
“We can never repair what nature tore apart, but we are committed to using the viaduct’s remains and park resources as learning tools for those who visit,” the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) said in a statement.
While the former bridge rose 301 feet from the valley, the far octagonal end of the new observation platform on the park-side towers will stand more than 200 feet above the stream. The deck will provide visitors with a safe, spectacular view—especially in the autumn.
The original bridge was rebuilt in 1900 to handle heavier trains, but the span went unused from 1959 to 1987 when the Knox and Kane Railroad began to operate a tourist train over the bridge. The collapse of the bridge in 2003 also signaled a downturn in tourist train travel to the park. The railroad last year sold its rolling stock at a well-attended auction near its station on Biddle Street in Kane. The rails, ties and certain rail equipment have been sold to a scrap dealer.
The Kinzua Bridge State Park officially opened in 1970. In 1977, the bridge received national recognition when it was placed on the National Register of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks.
The new observation deck on the six towers is one of two projects planned at the park.
A second project calls for the construction of an interpretation-oriented visitor center, park office and roads and parking lots.
Jason Zimmerman, now based at Bendigo State Park near Johnsonburg, is the manager for the Kinzua Bridge State Park as well as Bendigo and Elk State Park near the East Branch Dam. Plans call for Kinzua Bridge State Park to host the new office for all three state parks.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 October 2009 )
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