The American Bridge Company is a heavy/civil construction firm that specializes in building and renovating bridges and other large, complex structures. Founded in 1900, the company is headquartered in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The firm has built many bridges in the U.S. and elsewhere; the Historic American Engineering Record notes at least 81. American Bridge has also built or helped build the Willis Tower, the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, launch pads, resorts, and more. During World War II, it produced tank landing ships (LSTs) for the United States Navy. In 2020, American Bridge Company was acquired by Southland Holdings LLC.
History
American Bridge Company was founded in April 1900, when J.P. Morgan & Co. led a consolidation of 28 of the largest U.S. steel fabricators and constructors. The company's roots extend to the late 1860s, when one of the consolidated firms, Keystone Bridge Company, built the Eads Bridge at St. Louis, the first steel bridge over the Mississippi River and still in use. In 1902, the company became a subsidiary of United States Steel as part of the Steel Trust consolidation.
The company pioneered the use of steel as a construction material; developing the means and methods for fabrication and construction that allowed it to be widely used in buildings, bridges, vessels, and other plate applications. It went on to do work across the nation and around the world.
During World War II, the company built warships for the U.S. Navy. In 1944, American painter Thomas Hart Benton recorded the construction and launch of LST 768, producing numerous drawings and a painting, Cut the Line.
The company went private in 1987 and was sold to Continental Engineering Corporation in 1988.
The town of Ambridge, Pennsylvania, was an American Bridge company town (thus the name "Ambridge"), and is near their current headquarters of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. Both municipalities are on the Ohio River near Pittsburgh, with access to many steel suppliers, as well as to waterborne and rail transport, to allow shipment of components and subassemblies.
Notable projects
This is a representative list, not an exhaustive one.
Bridges
1908 Puente Negro, Culiacan, México
1910 Willow Creek Bridge, Madras, Oregon
1926 Hercilio Luz Bridge, Florianópolis, Brazil
1927 Silver Bridge, Point Pleasant, West Virginia
1936 Bay Bridge, Oakland, California
1939 Exchange Street Bridge, Athol, Massachusetts
1957 Mackinac Bridge, Mackinac Straits, Michigan
1961 Puente Hermanos Patiño, Santiago, Dominican Republic
1964 Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, New York Harbor
1997 Macarthur Causeway, Miami, Florida
2017 Genesee Arch Bridge, Letchworth State Park, Portageville, New York
Built the longest concrete segmental cable stay bridge in the United States: 1986 Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Tampa Bay, Florida
Built the longest suspension bridge in South America, and one of the longest in Europe:
1967 Orinoco Bridge, Venezuela
1966 April 25 Bridge, Lisbon, Portugal
Built the world's longest arch bridge on three occasions:
1977 New River Gorge Bridge, West Virginia, 518 meters, (1,700’) 1932 Bayonne Bridge, Staten Island-New Jersey, 504 meters (1,652’) 1916 Hell Gate Bridge, New York City, 298 meters (978’)
Built the world's longest self-supporting continuous truss bridge:
1966 Astoria Bridge, Oregon, 376 meters (1,232’)
Renovations of existing bridges:
1995 Moved an existing Norfolk Southern vertical lift bridge from Florence, Alabama, to Hannibal, Missouri, 1998 First aerial spinning for additional main cables on a loaded, fully operational suspension bridge. April 25 Bridge in Lisbon, Portugal 2001 First stiffening truss replacement on a loaded, fully operational suspension bridge. Lions Gate Bridge, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 2002 Eastern span replacement of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, in a joint venture with Fluor Corporation, American Bridge-Fluor.
Buildings
Built the world's tallest building on numerous occasions.
1930 Chrysler Building, New York City
1930 Woolworth Building, New York City
1932 Empire State Building, New York City
1974 Willis Tower, Chicago
Built many other well-known buildings. 1902 Flatiron Building, New York City 1969 John Hancock Center, Chicago 1969 John Hancock Tower, Boston 1971 U.S. Steel Tower, Pittsburgh 1971 Disney's Contemporary Resort, Orlando 1973 Aon Center, Chicago 1975 Columbia Center, Seattle