Metal truss bridges are an important part of Pennsylvania’s engineering and technological history and are a standing legacy to the state’s iron and steel industry. Unfortunately, modern traffic needs in combination with insufficient maintenance funding, especially for locally owned bridges, … Continue reading
Category Archives: PennDOT
Punching through the Plowzone
Archaeologists are always on the ready for the next mythical idea of what we are and what we do. We don’t dig dinosaurs or find buried treasure (at least the kind that entails riches untold). We don’t all work in … Continue reading
Guidance for the Treatment of Historic Bridges
Wherever you travel in Pennsylvania, you are likely to cross a historic bridge. These bridges are an important part of the cultural landscape and a link to Pennsylvania’s transportation and engineering history. Eventually these bridges need some level of work … Continue reading
Mine Sealing: A Little-Known Legacy of the New Deal
With Earth Day right around the corner, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to share with you one of the little-known and fascinating historic contexts available from the PA SHPO: Mine Sealing in Southwestern Pennsylvania During the Great Depression. … Continue reading
Bridge to the Past: PennDOT’s Historic Metal Truss Bridge Management Plan
In June 2016, I was hired as the Transportation Special Initiatives Coordinator in the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). This new position was created through a special funding agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and was developed … Continue reading
A Journey to Potters Mills: Story Maps as Mitigation
Potters Mills? Story Maps? What are these things? This week’s post from guest contributor Charles Richmond will answer these burning questions and talk about this creative way to use 21st century technology to connect people to place and preservation.
Fall in Love with a Metal Truss Bridge
Have you ever driven along the back roads of Pennsylvania and come across one of the state’s beautiful metal truss bridges? Or seen a massive truss bridge spanning a major river crossing? These awe-inspiring bridges are a part of Pennsylvania’s … Continue reading
Artifacts from PennDOT Dig Shine at Wheaton
There’s a scene in the 1960 classic, The Time Machine, where Rod Taylor escapes the imminent nuclear war by throwing his machine fast into the future. Quickly, the ground rises all around him and for what appears to be an … Continue reading
Mapping the Probability of Pre-Historic Archaeological Sites
As we mentioned in our recent post about new archaeology guidelines, The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), and PHMC partnered with URS Corporation to develop a statewide pre-contact archaeological predictive model for Pennsylvania. The project involved … Continue reading
Shouting-Out about the Statewide Conference!
Time for April’s SHPO Shout-Out! I’m going to mix it up a bit this month and Shout Out about something that’s happening soon rather than something that’s already happened or is in the process of happening. It’s not that I … Continue reading