City of Bridges: Pittsburgh's vast infrastructure

Pittsburgh, the City of Bridges, has a vast infrastructure that needs constant maintenance. I interviewed Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald to learn how it keeps up.
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Thanks to:
Rich Fitzgerald www.pittsburghmagazine.com/ou...
Rebecca Kiernan www.phipps.conservatory.org/g...
The Heinz History Center www.heinzhistorycenter.org/
Meadowcroft Rock Shelter www.heinzhistorycenter.org/vi...
Music score:
‘Moments in Time’ - Tristan Barton
‘Outrun’ - WeAreTheGood
‘Element- Instrumental’ - Frank Bentley
‘Runways’ - Stanley Gurvich
‘Descending Chamber’ - Out of Flux
‘Sunday Best’ - Steven Beddall
‘Midnight Sun’ - Beneath the Mountain
‘Ripples’ - Tamuz Dekel
‘Self Love’ - Steven Beddall
Sources:
The only city in America with an entrance [NY Times]
www.nytimes.com/1988/01/03/ar...
The rise and fall of Pittsburgh steel
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/...
Rich Fitzgerald: Pittsburgher of the Year
www.pittsburghmagazine.com/ou...
US Steel
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Steel
Tunnels of Pittsburgh
www.pittsburghmagazine.com/un...
Old Pittsburgh photos
www.steelcactus.com/OLDPGH1.html
Longest automobile-carrying Lenticular bridge
structurae.net/en/structures/...
NTSB Fern Hollow Bridge collapse video report
• NTSB Animation - Overv...
Three sisters bridges
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_S...)
Steel, Man’s Servant - 1938
www.c-span.org/video/?450280-...
Pittsburgh pop chart
population.us/pa/pittsburgh/
Pittsburgh stock exchange
news.google.com/newspapers?id...
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (wiki)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrast...
House vote
clerk.house.gov/Votes/2021369
Senate vote
www.senate.gov/legislative/LI...
First $132 in Pitt bridge funding
www.spcregion.org/2024/01/19/...
Aurora: Pioneering the Future of Autonomous Driving
www.pghtech.org/news-and-publ...
Phipps Center for Sustainable Landscapes
www.phipps.conservatory.org/g...
Carnegie Mellon program rankings
www.cmu.edu/ambassadors/decem...
UPMC Medical Center
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Univers...
Allegheny County population
worldpopulationreview.com/us-...
Allegheny County analytics
alleghenyanalytics.azurewebsi...
This is the only city in America with an entrance: Pittsburgh, the City of Bridges.
Nestled in the rugged terrain of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh lies at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, giving birth to the mighty Ohio.
Three sisters Roberto Clemente, artist Andy Warhol, and conservationist Rachel Carson.
Today, a total of 446 bridges exist in the city of Pittsburgh
City of Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow bridge
County Executive, Rich Fitzgerald
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
Marcellus Shale - the largest natural gas find
The University of Pittsburgh Oakland, Schenley Park Phipps Conservatory, is home to the Center for Sustainable Landscapes-the first and only building to meet seven of the highest green certifications Carnegie Mellon University ranked number one in engineering, robotics, and computer science Robotics, AI, software Pitt medical technology, the biotechnology, the life sciences
autonomous vehicle sector Aurora driverless trucking product on a route between Houston and Dallas ‘Robotics Row’
Googles, the Facebooks, the Microsofts
Great Allegheny Passage C&O Canal trail in Maryland along the Potomac and can take you all the way into Washington DC
drop in air pollution electric transit buses Pittsburgh International airport
Lochs and dams, as the water goes over it’s going to turn a turbine. It’s going to generate electricity for our lights and for our buildings-whether it’s the jail, whether it's our nursing homes, whether it’s our county office building - the courthouse - all of the various things that we operate. Net zero parks

[@jpatrick113]

Thanks for visiting our city! I hope you had a lovely time! I really enjoyed this mini doc and have been awaiting it since you mentioned it was on the way!

[@TDC_TheDocumentaryChannel]

Awesome! I had a great time in the ‘burgh! My dad is from there and went to CMU. After many visits growing up to my grandparents farm out in Irwin, and occasional trips into the city for a ballgame, it was really cool to explore on my own for a few days as an adult for this project. Which neighborhood do you live in?

[@cubancarp3019]

@@TDC_TheDocumentaryChannelplease refer to nex benedict as it. Wouldn’t want ppl thinking it was human

[@cubancarp3019]

@@TDC_TheDocumentaryChannelI wish Putin would stop this horrific war on Ukraine and just focus on hunting down trans ppl

[@cubancarp3019]

@@TDC_TheDocumentaryChannelI hate trump for banning trans ppl from the military. We definitely should not be protecting those “people”

[@cubancarp3019]

@@TDC_TheDocumentaryChanneltrump was an idiot for banning trans ppl from the military. If a trans person wants to commit suduko, we need to let them

[@SeanA099]

Geographically, Pittsburgh is probably one of the most unique cities in America

[@The_WarriorsWay]

Listening to Rich Fitzgerald is truly a pleasure; his intellectual discourse is captivating.

[@adamclabaugh1945]

I've driven through the Fort Pitt tunnel over a 100 times and that view of the city when you come out still takes my breathe away.

[@Soccerdog2009]

Being from the Pittsburgh area I never thought of it as how big and how many people used to live here and how much money in taxes leaves but all the infrastructure stays.

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

Pittsburgh is a hidden gem and forgotten economic powerhouse of America that no one thinks about.... A half a year ago, I had never seen a video pop up on my KZbin, but in the last half year or so it seems like so many more videos covering the city have started to be made, and the revolations and unveilings of the city make it hard not to click and watch...

[@JamesSantelli]

Thanks for visiting! I’ll add that Mr. Fitzgerald, after being term-limited out of office, is now head of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission - our region’s official Metropolitan Planning Organization. He will continue to have an impact on the Pittsburgh area’s transportation plans for years to come.

[@stephen_dmg2003]

10 years ago if you would've told me pennsylvania would be one of the most desirable places to live in the US, i would've laughed. now though, i can't stop thinking about moving there

[@DannyPimienta]

Pittsburgh is a great city to visit. I used to take my kids there several times a year. May go back again someday on my own since the kids are grown up now.

[@KillerTacos54]

Absolutely fantastic. Massive hats off to Fitzgerald

[@StoreyofGee]

Beautiful city and landscape. Didn’t realize how hilly the region was. Great video, thank you for the insights.

[@pvant23]

Overall, great video. One area I wished he touched on more was how car-oriented development contributed to the deterioration of the infrastructure. Cities built for cars are inherently inefficient and unsustainable. This design eventually leads to the bankruptcy of cities. The focus for reviving these cities should be on people-oriented development, not car-oriented. Cities should design dense, walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods, with access to transit and bike lanes. This kind of development leads to sustainable and thriving cities.

[@FrankMichaelSmith]

Pittsburgh is not the midwest. Only piece missing from this wonderful video

[@FGH9G]

Major props to them for cleaning up the rivers and allowing them to be swam in! Take notes Paris! New York! Philly! Pretty much every city ever LOL

[@SmartStructuresTV]

Fascinating interview! Keeping Pittsburgh's bridges in top shape is a huge job.

[@markanthony1004]

Pittsburgh became one of my favorite cities after going there for a job assignment. The Duquesne Incline has a great view of downtown and Heinz Field and the rivers. Wish there was more going on at the top but the bar restaurant there is legit. Boston, Dallas, Denver, and Pittsburgh are definitely my favorite U.S. cities by far. Also, you can see Pittsburgh from a plane depending on the route and I guess the runway assigned. I got a great view on one flight there and they used the cross runway so maybe but idk. Still, I'd recommend it to anyone and I got to stay in the strip district. Never even needed to drive I just walked to the hospital and the Incline. I wish I'd explored Downtown more though.

[@anthonydpearson]

Awesome! Love hearing stories about towns working together to reinvent themselves.

[@discinjohn]

11:20 Parks and trails. awesome i

[@liamnacinovich8232]

I’m actually in awe of that city. I went there once and I’m from NY but that city looked so well run despite it being so much smaller. This video opened my eyes up about this city.

[@jamesg2382]

Cool, great report. Thanks from Sydney

[@TDC_TheDocumentaryChannel]

Cheers, thank you!

[@classic.cameras]

As a Penguins fan in Canada I have always wanted to go to Pittsburgh (wow big dreams eh?) but it would be cool to visit Pittsburgh and walk across a bunch of these bridges. And also, from this video, I never knew how beautiful it is. Nice city.

[@TDC_TheDocumentaryChannel]

It's funny how that happens as sports fans across the vast N American landscape :) Definitely recommend a trip to Pittsburgh. Maybe Oct or early April when it's not too hot/cold to catch a game at PPG and take some strolls along the river. Even when I was there in early August it was warm and humid, but still beautiful.

[@kazikian]

What a beautiful city!

[@OnyxandChico]

Excellently made video. The topography of Pittsburgh is unique in the world.

[@SincerelyFromStephen]

Ayyyeeee home city mentioned!

[@mitchellbarnow1709]

Thankfully enough people in government are willing to make the necessary investments and not just cut taxes and spending.

[@Titoroski187]

This was good.

[@DK70707]

Cincinnati, similar to Pittsburgh also has a nice welcoming view when coming in from the airport

[@StLouis-yu9iz]

Would love to see you cover the most underrated city in the Western Hemisphere soon, St. Louis! ⚜️

[@TDC_TheDocumentaryChannel]

Great suggestion!

[@NQUINNT]

If you haven’t done Cleveland or Buffalo pls do. Erie, PA could be a could location too

[@JohnWilson-wg4gk]

BRUNO SAMMARTINO !!! Studio Wrestling ! WIIC TV 11 Saturdays, with host Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille. THAT...was Pittsburgh.

[@47AndyT]

Totaly agree; remember very well your comments! I worked in a steel mill for one summer before college.

[@TheOneCity1]

Real civil engineer will love this ❤❤

[@marymoninger3593]

I can’t believe this is 1 day old and has so many views already. PGH she doin numbers!!! #412

[@apricotcomputers3943]

KEEP THAT DAM ON!

[@user-tl6iw3if2o]

thanks

[@Swindy1794]

I hate driving in Pittsburgh… if you’re not a local, you’re screwed. Come out of a tunnel and you have about a 1/4 mile to decide which ramp you need… it’s a zoo of expressways and truly a maze. Not to mention the traffic.. omg!

[@thedankpanda8995]

Not a local either. Either you got the city driver in you or you don’t. It’s not that bad, just can’t get caught sleeping or someone will capitalize on that. Just like every other city in the US

[@lennysmom]

There's no nice traffic grid here. Roads follow the rivers and the terrain. Avenues that were running parallel will become miles apart. That said, I love the city.

[@arresthillary9502]

Fitzgerald seems like a gooberment official with a good brain. logical, rational, reasonable thinking type of man. Pitt is lucky to have him

[@sglenny001]

The same happened with Sheffield here in the UK

[@deepmedsing9961]

I did drive around Pittsburgh for a week, but tbh, i didnt quite enjoy it. apart from the view of downtown from the tunnel. I remember there was a bridge where 2 4-lane roads merged and traffic from both the roads had to pick a lane within 800 ft because the bridge would again diverge into 2 4-lane roads, that was just too stressful for me as a driver.

[@4ironblovksonepumokinheady845]

Driving here is not for the faint of heart

[@2strokeFORever]

I think Pittsburgh is one of the coolest looking cities from an aerial view

[@joelouis5118]

Nice city

[@kimberlylewistyner2070]

0:32 my dad loves Pittsburg because the settlers!

[@shrekdaddy6912]

I use the Smithfield Street bridge everyday they're working on it extensively.

[@realeestatereaction]

Great comeback story for Pittsburgh, but they really need to clean up the litter along the roads and highways!

[@willliamjocz3606]

Fitzgerald a common sense democrat. Good job reviving metro Pittsburgh.

[@user-yi7zj3lv5t]

we definately weren't a one-industry town but its an easy misnomer due to how big it was. also the guy who praised marcellus shale, that did not work out as he says, most the profits go to of course the oil shareholders, and our environment and people will suffer due to those activities.

[@sadenb]

I did my graduate studies from U. Pitt

[@chriswalls5831]

My new idea fix bridges in wv, Iowa

[@user-ik8nm2rr2e]

Yeah...and when you exit the tunnel you have about 2 seconds to decide which of five lanes you need to be in to get where you're going

[@JohnWilson-wg4gk]

Tourist : "Can you give me directions to ( fill in the blank ) ? " Pittsburgher : "Yinz can't get there from here... "

[@IntravenouslyDruggedSloth]

​@@JohnWilson-wg4gkhahaha 🤣 pretty much

[@MisledNeNick]

This video is out just in time for AnthroCon! :3

[@GreyFoxenB]

Anthrocon! :3

[@TDC_TheDocumentaryChannel]

Hah, I had to look up what that is! You getting yer furry on this year?

[@MisledNeNick]

@@TDC_TheDocumentaryChannel I won't be able to go this year, but many of my friends will be there! I at least get to go to 'Midwest Fur Fest' every year in Chicago though. x3

[@njnikusha]

Looks so beautiful Definitely worth visiting

[@jaypalmerittas4607]

God bless the USA and President Biden.

[@communismisthefuture6503]

Happy to learn about the cities I’ve only heard of because they have a football team. Sounds like they have competent people in charge

[@thebestbaseballguy]

Well naturally, this documentary focused on the positives. We are doing a lot of things well here. But there's still massive problems to tackle. Our land bank, the URA, is heinously corrupt and as a result there's many blighted properties in the city, and it's very difficult to buy one of those properties from the URA. Our city and county governments have a lot of red tape for real estate and renovations, the permitting system here is a mess and you need a permit for even minor repairs in many instances. Our transit right now is kind of a mess; they've had a hard time with staffing, which has lead to decreased reliability, which has lead to decreased ridership, which has lead to cuts in service. We have an increasing homeless problem that the current mayor is totally inept at handling. I could go on and on with the issues we have. I mean for goodness sake, a bridge literally had to fall over for us to admit we have a massive issue with deferred maintenance on our infrastructure! Obviously we have some issues as a city. Despite those problems, this is easily one of the best places in the US to live, especially when compared to the cost of living. The parks and trails are incredible, as mentioned in the video (homeless problem along the trails notwithstanding) and there's a solid job market and tons to do. What I get in terms of amenities compared to cost is waaaaaay better than back in NJ. It's hard to imagine living anywhere else.

[@danieleborsari6394]

Survive...

[@OneManSpacecraft]

As a citizen of Pittsburgh I can confidently say that next to nothing is being done to help improve our infrastructure, Even if we have the money.

[@kuta424]

You must not actually be from the city then.. literally everything is improving lol

[@marymoninger3593]

You have not recently driven over the Highland Park Bridge…

[@AGoodJoe]

My favorite of the east

[@Fluxwux]

Why does the layout and geography of Pittsburgh look almost identical to Kaunas, Lithuania? 😅

[@TDC_TheDocumentaryChannel]

Oh you're right! Same west-facing point where the Nemunas and Neris rivers converge. I bet the rivers made it an ideal regional transportation hub, but I wonder if it was coal - like in Pitt - they were moving...

[@kylesmith5392]

Pixburgh

[@WillieFungo]

This guy makes it sound like Pittsburg is a relevant city in America.

[@IntravenouslyDruggedSloth]

Apparently it is. I mean, I'm from here and I don't think it is but to each their own I guess

[@scrambler69-xk3kv]

It is, much research in the medical field, this city has world class medical facilities. A number of Universities are located in this city. You should do some research before running your mouth. robotics is huge and many companies in this city work closely with NASA. Same with the Pittsburgh symphony orchestra. Carnegie science center which is closely connected to the Smithsonian Institute. So much more that I am sure I have forgotten. It is not a damn smoky steel city as you would I'm sure like to believe.

[@JBG1968]

More than international pressure . The American steel industry invested almost nothing into innovation and upkeep in their existing mills . They just couldn’t keep up as time went on

[@Nigel42687]

W Pitt

[@just_in_key]

Tlou part 1

[@thomasjcox]

Could imagine people in 2024 working the way people worked back in the day? Efficiently ?

[@toytacambery9427]

I live in the rust belt and it drives me crazy when people excuse the way politicians have sold our country's means of production on the global market by saying stupid stuff like "they relied on the steel industry. A 1 industry town." Yeah, bud. We went from a one industry area to a 0 industry area. We're soooo much more better off now. Lmao.

[@alexfaeth9673]

Cincinnati next!!!!

[@sunofcalifornia8783]

This is one of Americas most beautiful cities and skylines. Top 3

[@spacey118]

Hmmmmm… were 18 lost?

[@jakejohnson9827]

wya autovlog ]

[@rudepekin708]

Why every US cities have a history of fire

[@cryptosminem1946]

Huevos

[@geocookinc]

Funny how dude spent 3 seconds talking about shale gas and NGL production contributing to the revitalization of the city. There is a reason why it was the first thing his interviewee mentioned.

[@Owl350]

HELP STOP FASCISM SOME STATES ARE SUFFERING !!!

[@jameshaxby5434]

I just watched a thing about PB, and the bridges were neat, but they painted all an ugly military cream color.

[@gcb345]

Retired military here. What is a 'military cream' color? Please explain.

[@jameshaxby5434]

@@gcb345 It's a very faded yellowish color they used to paint a lot of military vehicles these days. I think it is supposed to match the terrain in Iraq.

[@JohnWilson-wg4gk]

Yes. It looks like the painters put the primer coat on then quit. The bridges need a top coat, like silver metallic.

[@johnjensen2217]

Except for the Smithfield street bridge most of the major river crossing bridges in the downtown area are painted a golden color….I can’t remember the official name. It comes from the colors used on the seal of the city of Pittsburgh, black and gold. It’s the same reason all of the sports teams (Steelers, Pirates, Penguins) have black and gold uniforms.

[@jameshaxby5434]

If that color that I saw was supposed to be gold it was an awfully wimpy gold. It looked more like vomit.

[@TempoDrift1480]

This was going real good till we got the lip service from politicians. I think I puked in my mouth a little bit.

[@martijnkeisers5900]

Damn, American cities sure are ugly..

[@marymoninger3593]

this is the most beautiful american city. and we created parts of europe here. this is childsplay 💅

[@azulaquaza4916]

Being the most immigrated to country in the world says otherwise

[@robsch21]

@@azulaquaza4916Huh? People don’t move there for the looks of the cities haha they want to get rich or do crime which is much more lucrative in the US then it is in South America.

[@azulaquaza4916]

@@robsch21 My guy American cities look better than 90% of the world. From New England villages to Miami and Cascadia you have 0 credibility when it comes to making anyone believe you lol.

[@martijnkeisers5900]

I travelled the US, all of them ugly. Sorry.

[@kengray3273]

FJB

[@alittlebitgone]

It's a myth that Pittsburgh has nearly 500 bridges, in reality there are fewer than 300, fewer even than Philly has.

[@jeffreywoodin8549]

You should not be making this a political issue, UNLESS you want to discuss the FULL so-called "Infrastructure Bill" and EVERYTHING that was in it and why some people may have voted No on that particular Bill or version of it. To just say "Democrats Good" and "Republicans Bad" (as if Republicans are against good bridges) is just dumb, shallow and dishonest. Please try and do better next time.

[@gcb345]

Guess what. Many republi-CAN'TS who voted AGAINST the infrastructure bill, went to their home districts and bragged like they had something to do with benefiting their constituents! Why did they do that? Its because they know their voters don't know any better and will never do the work to know the truth! In other words, they were played for the fools that they are!

[@_al_7210]

I don’t understand why you had to bring politics into such a great video. You say only one republican voted for the bill but you give no context as to why. For a content creator that’s so informative. No I’m not Republican or Democrat. But it’s really tiring to see political party bashing in every day life. It’s a beautiful video about bridges bro. The bill got passed. It was really unnecessary.

[@overbanked]

Bingo! He might as well have said "Make sure you vote for Joe Biden in November"

[@thedamnedatheist]

But you aren't tired of seeing parties vote along party lines to deny needed funding for communities? Curious....

[@overbanked]

@@thedamnedatheist I bet you that wasn't a clean bill strictly on infrastructure; it likely was loaded with tons of pork. Dems are notorious for doing that

[@alittlebitgone]

The why is that it was Biden, that alone is enough for R's to vote it down, even when it would massively benefit their own voters, as this bill did.

[@overbanked]

I bet you this bill had tons of Marxist pork; nevermind that...Act like it was some stand alone bill concerning infrastructure...

[@darkchocolate3390]

Woah. I was wondering where this channel went.