The City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is divided up by three rivers, the Allegheny, Monongahela and the Ohio Rivers. Along with these dissecting water-ways comes the big town's nickname, city of bridges. Pittsburgh is only second to Venice, Italy, with a total bridge count of 40. The town's first wooden bridges have long since been replaced with a mix of steel bridge types, including suspension, cantilever and arch. The majority of these spans are painted gold, matching the city's official colors, gold and black, following the lead of the town's sports teams.
Seasonal flooding has plagued the town since its inception, with record floods topping 30 feet, more than 25 times. On two occasions waters crested 40 feet, once in 1763 and again in 1936. Heavy winter snows and abnormal rainfall lead to the usual flood conditions. Flood controls put in place during the 1930s has helped educe some of the worst flooding. Locks and dams along the three rivers were tested with hurricanes Agnes, Francis and Ivan.