A DCNR inspection in 2002 deemed the viaduct unsafe and it was closed to all traffic. Restoration work was well underway when, on July 21, 2003, severe weather sent the crew scrambling for shelter. Just after 3:15 p.m., an F1 tornado hit Kinzua Bridge State Park. No match for the powerful winds, the viaduct's 120-year-old anchor bolts snapped. In two minutes, 11 steel towers lay in a twisted tangle on the valley floor. Today, the DCNR manages this area to allow smaller plants and grasses to thrive, while preventing larger shrubs and trees from obscuring the view of the debris field. The debris field has become home to plants and animals.
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