Greenfield Bridge


The Greenfield Bridge, officially known as the Beechwood Boulevard Bridge II, is a steel arch bridge located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The bridge spans the Parkway East between the Greenfield and Oakland neighborhoods. The current steel bridge replaced an older concrete bridge at the same location.

Original bridge

An older concrete arch bridge existed at the site from 1922 to 2015. This bridge was officially named the Beechwood Boulevard Bridge, but was generally referred to as the Greenfield Bridge. The bridge was constructed in 1921–1923. It was completed by December 1922, but some of the approaches still needed to be filled in. The final cost was $370,000. The original bridge was in total length with a main span.
By the late 1980s, the bridge had begun to decay. In September 1989 debris from the bridge impacted cars, injuring three people. By this point nets had been placed under the bridge. A city engineer said he suspected vandals may have thrown the concrete, but one of the drivers said they were watching the bridge after they were forced to stop and saw no one on the bridge.
The decrepit condition of the bridge became "a national symbol of infrastructure failure" in the United States, and its poor condition was featured on 60 Minutes and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. A makeshift 'bridge under a bridge' was constructed to prevent any falling debris that evaded the old bridge's nets from crashing onto I-376.
The bridge was imploded on December 28, 2015 at 9:20 am. The inbound side of I-376 reopened to traffic on the 31st, a day ahead of schedule. However, the outbound side suffered damage despite a protective layer of dirt placed under the bridge for the implosion and its reopening was delayed.

New bridge

The replacement bridge opened to traffic on October 15, 2017. It is officially known as the Beechwood Boulevard Bridge II. The new bridge cost $17.5 million to construct and was designed and engineered by HDR, Inc.
The new bridge mimics the appearance of the original structure and many of the stone ornaments from the original bridge were restored and incorporated into it. The new bridge has wider lanes and sidewalks and a dedicated bicycle path. Its steel elements are painted green to reflect its connection to the community of Greenfield.