Kinzua Bridge State Park

In mid-July 2018 we drove from Shippenville, Pennsylvania to Cuba, New York, located in Allegany County, just north of the Western New York/Pennsylvania border. This was another of our short 4-day stays, long enough to get a taste of the area, do a little touring, regroup, and get back on the road. During our stop we drove back into Pennsylvania to visit the Kinzua Bridge State Park, one of the most fascinating parks I’ve been to during our travels.

This 339-acre park is the home of the now defunct Kinzua Viaduct. Originally built in 1882, with a rebuild in 1900, this bridge was once the longest and tallest railroad structure in the world, standing 301 feet high and stretching 2,503 feet long. In 1977 it was listed as a Historic Civil Engineering landmark, but this impressive structure was eventually brought down by a tornado.

On July 21, 2003, a tornado from the east touched down at the park. The F-1 category storm tore down 11 of the 20 structure spans while nearby trees were snapped and uprooted. The failure was caused by badly rusted bolts at the base of the towers. It was determined that the entire structure oscillated 4-5 times before the base bolts gave way. The towers fell intact in sections, and were damaged further as they hit the ground. They have been left as they fell, the ruins illustrating the forces of nature at work.

No longer a train route, this engineering masterpiece was reinvented as a pedestrian walkway in 2011. Visitors can stroll 600 feet out on the remaining support towers, peer miles out into the Kinzua Gorge, and gaze down through the partial glass platform at the end of the walkway. It was incredible to see the havoc wreaked by this tornado, bringing down tons of steel towers like they were nothing more than tinker toys. Along with the visitors center and pedestrian walkway, there are picnic areas and hiking trails winding through the park, so we were able to make an afternoon of our visit.