American Bridge Company

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American Bridge Company
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryCivil Engineering
Founded1900
HeadquartersCoraopolis, Pennsylvania, United States
Key people
Frank Renda, CEO
Productsbridge building
construction
marine structures
RevenueIncrease$328 million USD
Number of employees
500
ParentSouthland Holdings LLC
Websitewww.americanbridge.net

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.[1] 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, a global leader in complex civil engineering, bridge construction and rehabilitation, marine construction, and specialty structures. This acquisition complements Southland Holdings’ diverse portfolio that includes tunneling, facilities and pipelines, heavy highway, bridge, and marine construction. The Southland Holdings family has completed more than 50,000 projects in 60 countries. The addition of American Bridge expands the company’s geographic reach, resources, and ability to deliver a wide range of infrastructure projects.

History[]

See also: List of companies consolidated into American Bridge Company
The Eads Bridge on the Mississippi River, the first major bridge built primarily of steel, was constructed by one of American Bridge Co.'s antecedents in 1874.

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.[2] 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.[citation needed] 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.[3]

The company went private in 1987 and was sold to Continental Engineering Corporation in 1988.[4]

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[]

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, New York Harbor

This is a representative list, not an exhaustive one.

Bridges[]

Built the longest concrete segmental cable stay bridge in the United States:

Built the longest suspension bridge in South America, and one of the longest in Europe:

Built the world's longest arch bridge on three occasions:

New River Gorge Bridge, West Virginia

Built the world's longest self-supporting continuous truss bridge:

  • 1966 Astoria Bridge, Oregon, 376 meters (1,232’)

Renovations of existing bridges:

Buildings[]

Willis Tower, Chicago, Illinois

Built the world's tallest building on numerous occasions.

Built many other well-known buildings.

Built the world's largest building by volume twice.

Built two of the most notable domed stadium structures in the world[weasel words]

  • 1964 Houston Astrodome
  • 1974 Louisiana Superdome

Miscellaneous[]

  • Space launch complex jacking for McDonnell Douglas Astronautics (now Boeing) (1994)
  • Built bottom framework for the unique, modular room units for Walt Disney Company at the Contemporary Resort in Walt Disney World (1971).
  • Hammerhead Crane, 350ton Cantilever type, (Norfolk Naval Shipyard), (1940)
  • Hunters Point Gantry Crane, world's largest, 460 ton capacity, (Hunters Point Naval Shipyard), (1947)

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Historic American Engineering Record. The firm listed as the builder of a project is usually not the designer. In most cases, the bridge designer or building architect does not select the construction company, which is chosen by the owners/developers. The designer and the contractor work together closely to get the job done.
  2. ^ "American Bridge history, 1900's".
  3. ^ Sebak, Rick (November 2009). "A Portrait of the Artist Thomas Hart Benton in Ambridge During World War II". Pittsburgh Magazine. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  4. ^ Gaynor, Pamela (2000-07-23). "Something old is new again for American Bridge". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2014-12-02.

External links[]

Company information[]

Projects and history[]

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