
Today in YFD History: February 21, 1984 – McCartney Rd Bridge Collapse


February 21, 1984 – A semi truck carrying 20-tons of steel coil exceeded the posted weight limit of the Old McCartney Bridge over Lincoln Park. The 491 foot long bridge collapsed when the truck, weighing twice the posted limit of the bridge was midway across the span. The collapse caused the semi truck and a car carrying two passengers to plunge 40-70 feet into the gorge of Dry Run Creek. The bridge was constructed in 1914 and had a reduced weight limit for some years. The bridge collapse took down Ohio Bell phone lines knocking out phone service in the area. In 1959, U.S. Route 422 was relocated and a new bridge was built over the Dry Run Creek Gorge. The older bridge was primarily used for light passenger car traffic and connected McCartney Rd on the East side to Lincoln Park Drive on the West side.
Youngstown Firefighters and paramedics were dispatched and extricated the driver of the semi and two patients from the passenger car. There were no fatalities from the collapse.
Photos by Robert Yosay, Youngstown Vindicator Photographer, Bill McKinney and John Sobinovski. Map courtesy of the Mahoning Co Engineers site.










(Left) 21 WFMJ archives / February 21, 1984 | The Lincoln Park Bridge in Youngstown collapsed under the weight of a tractor-trailer hauling steel coils 40 years ago. In the foreground, crews give emergency assistance to the passengers in a car that was crossing the bridge as it collapsed. In the background, another crew administers to the truck driver, who was removed from the truck and placed on the grass.
Sources:
20-Ton Truck Is Blamed For Collapse of Bridge. Youngstown Vindicator February 21, 2984 (multiple articles)
https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Zbk_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=RVcMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1623%2C1761542