Kinzua Bridge - Aftermath

Aftermath

The state decided not to rebuild the Kinzua Bridge, which would have cost an estimated $45 million. Instead, the ruins are intended to become a visitor attraction used to show the forces of nature at work. Kinzua Bridge State Park had attracted 215,000 visitors annually before the bridge collapsed, and was one of twenty state parks chosen by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Parks for its list of "Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks". The viaduct and its collapse were featured in the History Channel's Life After People as an example of how corrosion and high winds would eventually lead to the collapse of any steel structure. The bridge was removed from the National Register of Historic Places on July 21, 2004.

The Knox and Kane Railroad was forced to suspend operations in October 2004 after a 75 percent decline in the number of passengers, brought about by the collapse of the Kinzua Bridge. The Kovalchick Corporation bought the Knox and Kane's tracks and all other property owned by the railroad, including the locomotives and rolling stock. The Kovalchick Corporation also owns the East Broad Top Railroad and was the company that owned the Kinzua Bridge before selling it to the state in 1963. The company plans to remove the tracks and sell them for scrap. The right-of-way would then be used to establish a rail trail.

Pennsylvania released $700,000 to design repairs on the remaining towers and plan development of the new park facilities in June 2005. In late 2005, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) put forward an $8 million proposal for a new observation deck and visitors' center, with plans to allow access to the bridge and a hiking trail giving views of the fallen towers. The Kinzua Sky Walk was opened on September 15, 2011 in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Sky Walk consists of a pedestrian walkway to an observation deck with a glass floor at the end of the bridge that allows views of the bridge and the valley directly below. The walkway cost $4.3 million to construct, but is estimated to bring in $11.5 million in tourism revenue for the region.