Like many older spans in southwestern Pennsylvania, the Albert Gallatin Bridge, built in 1930 to carry Route 88 across the Monongahela River, is nearing the end of its natural life.
After a recent inspection, PennDOT reduced the bridge capacity to 3 tons until repairs can be made.
But old-timers in Point Marion remember the glory days of the elegant cantilever structure, how folks from Greene County would pour into town for shopping and, on Saturday, the bank.
"Cars would park along the road and (people would) walk across," said John Erjavek, owner of Erjavek's Restaurant on the Dilliner, Greene County, side. The toll for cars was a quarter, but pedestrians could walk across for 5 cents.
"Sometimes kids would sneak across when the toll keeper was talking to a driver," said Richard Herod, who was 10 years old when the bridge was completed.
PennDOT is making repairs to the bridge and hopes to increase capacity soon. Long-term plans call for the eventual replacement of the span.
In the meantime, delivery trucks have had to go more than 20 miles out of the way to find a Monongahela River crossing at the Masontown Bridge.
"This has caused serious problems for us," said Erjavek. "Our delivery drivers have to go all the way to Masontown and Carmichaels in order to get here. The guys argue about it. They don't want to go all that way around."
According to Stephen Hvizda, PennDOT project manager for the replacement bridge, cantilever bridges suffer much corrosion because of their open tops.
"For the time period, it handled the traffic," he said. "But that style bridge corrodes more than those with a deck on top. However, being more than 50 years old and because of its construction, it is historical."
The bridge is an example of a truss bridge whose individual components are connected in a series of triangles. Truss bridges were originally constructed in lumber and often had a roof and sheathing, making them covered bridges. They appealed to smaller rural localities in Pennsylvania because they were inexpensive and easily assembled. By the end of the 19th century, the cantilever truss became very popular. Such bridges had one or both ends extending beyond the supports. The main span of this bridge covers 460 feet.
The Albert Gallatin Memorial Bridge was built with private financing.
"In July 1928, the Point Marion Community Club appointed a committee to study the feasibility of bridge construction by a private firm. Funds were obtained by selling stock and work started on Sept. 24, 1929, just before the crash on Wall Street. The same people who built the high school in 1926 built that bridge," said Herod. "They sold stock in denominations of $100. The Depression came and people who bought the common stock never thought they'd recover it. When the state purchased it later, however, they got back their principal and a little extra. It became toll-free on May 15, 1957."
The bridge was a vital link for the people of Greene County.
"My family was from Greene County and that bridge was a link from Point Marion to Greene County. Before that, there was a ferry at the foot of Penn Street. What caused the traffic between the two areas was that we had a voluntary jointure between the schools," said Herod.
The school merger also helped businesses in Point Marion.
"The bridge brought the kids here and they went home and told their parents about the goods, so on Saturday they all would come into town," he said.
Kate Wyda grew up in Point Marion and remembers the school buses that used the bridge..
"One-half the student body of the Point Marion High School came from Greene County," she said. "They used to have Special Promotion Days for crossing the bridge."
Noelene Packrone added, "I used it all the time to visit my friends in Greene County."
A public meeting about the new bridge will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Point Marion Fire Hall. One topic for that meeting will be a discussion of historical resources relating to the old bridge; another will be a PennDOT presentation of alternative locations for the new span.
Jack Stewart, another resident of Point Marion, would like to see the old bridge preserved.
"It's an historic bridge, a focal point for the community," he said. "I think the bridge is perfectly located. If they tear it down, they should compensate the community for destroying a cultural landmark."
Joe Murphy is a freelance writer for the Tribune-Review.
