The McCardle Viaduct No. 1 on the South Side (owned and maintained by the city) is so deteriorated, it has a puny 3-ton weight limit and is inspected by the city as often as twice a month. Guy Costa insists it is safe “just as long as drivers obey the weight and speed limits,” he said. If need be, Costa stressed he wouldn’t hesitate to shut it down.
Since the average size car weighs 1.6 tons, it would seem that only 1.875 average size cars should cross this span at any given time. And since most larger SUVs exceed the 3 ton limit all by themselves, it would seem these vehicles should not be crossing at all.
Ms. Pist is very interested in fully obeying the weight and speed limits along this stretch of McArdle but has no idea where Viaduct No. 1 is located. Since Ms. Pist drives a whole automobile and not a .875 automobile, it would be best for her to be aware of this precarious stretch so that her crossing will not tip the scales should there be another auto in front of her.
PG readers should take note and immediately assess if they are driving whole cars or .875 cars so as to safely navigate this span themselves. And by the way, if anyone knows where McArdle Viaduct No. 1 is …… please email the PG immediately.
Since the average size car weighs 1.6 tons, it would seem that only 1.875 average size cars should cross this span at any given time. And since most larger SUVs exceed the 3 ton limit all by themselves, it would seem these vehicles should not be crossing at all.
Ms. Pist is very interested in fully obeying the weight and speed limits along this stretch of McArdle but has no idea where Viaduct No. 1 is located. Since Ms. Pist drives a whole automobile and not a .875 automobile, it would be best for her to be aware of this precarious stretch so that her crossing will not tip the scales should there be another auto in front of her.
PG readers should take note and immediately assess if they are driving whole cars or .875 cars so as to safely navigate this span themselves. And by the way, if anyone knows where McArdle Viaduct No. 1 is …… please email the PG immediately.
4 comments:
Thank you Southsider, for your detailed description of Viaduct 1's location:
#1 is the trestle bridge on McCardle between 10th and the Liberty Bridge, where the road goes over the railroad tracks. (There are only two bridges on this section of McCardle, the second located right before
the intersection with Arlington.) It's distinguishable by the large
steel plates on the roadway covering holes in the asphalt deck. The 15 mph signs, along with the 3 ton weight limit sign, appear right before and right after the bridge, along with a "No buses and no trucks"-type
of sign.
It is a truly frightening bridge, but as many of us remember when
they shut down the McCardle/Liberty Bridge intersection a few years
back, we need that bridge and roadway on the Southside.
Would be nice if the city actually chose to fix it instead of
letting it just fall apart. But hey, I'm expecting a bit much from this Council--we have to keep those cats in check and out of Koi pools!
--Southsider
This stretch of road might make a good place to service all the valet parking needs.
I'd love to go to a block party there too -- if you want to be the host.
The weight limits posted are per-vehicle limits, so no vehicle over 3 tons gross weight can cross.
Google Streetview allows you to see pictures of this bridge and move across it, from the safety of your computer:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=belle+vernon,+pa&ie=UTF8&ll=40.429709,-79.993129&spn=0.004663,0.012145&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=40.42773,-79.99344&panoid=Gf91jeby89Ad6BzLZfFNIg&cbp=1,87.34515601749797,,0,-0.5324187112810688
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