Rachel Carson Bridge

Making our way back across The Allegheny River, we take our first steps onto the Rachel Carson Bridge, dedicated to the memory of Marine biologist and environmentalist Rachel Carson. Known also as the Ninth Street Bridge, the overpass was built as part of three parallel bridges also spanning the river. Collectively known as Pittsburgh’s “Three Sisters,” the latter half of the trinity includes the Andy Warhol Bridge and the Roberto Clemente Bridge further down. 

Yet Carson's Bridge, spanning between Pittsburgh’s Isabella Street and Allegheny State Park, remains devoted to the legacy of Carson’s work as a naturalist.  As a beacon of scientific research, she expressed an early interest in nature and the living world, striving at a young age to work in a career dedicated to its preservation. Graduating from the Pennsylvania State College for Women, she later went on to publish a number of books on the subject as well. Carson’s research eventually led her to condemn the indiscriminate use of pesticides in the food chain. With her findings endorsed by a presidential commission, Carson’s research also led to the banning of a number of pesticides including DDT. 

In the end, Carson’s work became so influential that many lobbied for the renaming of the Ninth Street Bridge in her honor. On Earth Day of 2006, the ceremony was held with various colleagues and city officials in attendance. Though Carson was never able to see it for herself, her legacy lives on in the bridge and other monuments dedicated to her work.

Photo “Rachel Carson Bridge from the north, 2010-06-12.jpg” by Sage Ross is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0