Tornado brought down what neglect started
Last week a tornado swept through the Allegheny National Forest and brought about the collapse of the fourth tallest railroad bridge in the nation. The Kinzua Viaduct – a tourist attraction, that brought 106,000 people each year to the area to marvel at its engineering, to snap pictures at the iron and steel beams – is a lesson in preservation that ought not to go unheeded.
Until recently tourists could take a thrilling ride across the bridge on a train tour, where it stopped to allow those who dared to venture on foot out onto its magnificent span. But a year ago state officials shut it down to train and pedestrian traffic out of fear that wind was over stressing the bridge.
The collapse came during a $12 million renovation project, but the repairs came much too late.
Built in 1882 of iron, the bridge was rebuilt using steel just 18 years later and was given a lifespan of 150 years, if properly maintained with paint jobs every seven years. The last time that occurred was 1950 and the bridge has fallen into neglect ever since the last freight train crossed in 1959.
Structures must be maintained to withstand the tests that time and nature throw at it. A tornado brought the bridge down, but neglect allowed it to happen.