The Collapse of the Kinzua Viaduct

A combination of design oversight and material fatigue left a century-old railroad bridge vulnerable to an F-1 tornado

Engineering Environment Human Ecology

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July-August 2005

Volume 93, Number 4
Page 348

DOI: 10.1511/2005.54.348

With rapid growth in the extraction of mineral resources during the late 19th century, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania saw the development of a complex railroad-transportation network, one that spanned the many gullies, valleys and gorges of the western and north-central parts of the state. Fossil fuels, especially coal, were needed in Great Lakes cities, and rail was the transportation of choice.

Photograph courtesy of Ed Bernik/Penn State Public Broadcasting.

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