Emergency responders at the site of the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse in Pittsburgh on Jan. 28. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)
The bridge collapsed hours before Biden arrived in Pittsburgh to discuss $1.2 trillion infrastructure package.
by Charlie Wolfson, PublicSource
The 447-foot Forbes Avenue bridge spanning a Frick Park ravine garnered poor ratings on its condition for years. When it collapsed early Friday morning, it became a shocking punctuation point on the calls for investment into the region’s infrastructure.
“Infrastructure will continue to deteriorate and we need to put in resources to ensure things like this don’t happen,” said University of Pittsburgh engineering professor Kent Harries, citing insufficient funding for bridge maintenance nationwide.
The collapse occurred on the “major artery” just hours before President Joe Biden is slated to visit Pittsburgh to discuss the new $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, which includes funding for bridge repairs — including $1.6 billion for Pennsylvania bridges.
On a wintry morning that caused a two-hour delay for schools and others to change their morning commutes, the collapse occurred while the bridge had five cars and a county bus on it. There were no fatalities; 10 people, including some first responders, were injured, with three taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The collapse also ruptured a gas line, which was shut off before more damage ensued.
The cause of the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge on Friday is under investigation. The bridge was rated “poor” by PennDOT, the state agency that inspects bridges. City officials said the bridge was most recently inspected in September 2021, but they have yet to release the inspection report to the public. A local PennDOT official declined to provide the report.
Deteriorating structures
PennDOT defines poor condition as “deterioration of primary structural elements has advanced.”
According to PennDOT records, 175 of 1,580 Allegheny County bridges are in poor condition. Of those, 29 are in Pittsburgh. Three of those 29 are owned and maintained by the state. Twenty-one of them, including the Fern Hollow Bridge, are owned and maintained by the city, meaning the city is responsible for any upgrades. (Use this PennDOT map tool to see where deficient bridges are located in the city and county.)
Pittsburgh’s $158 million 2022 capital budget contains $7.25 million for bridge upgrades.
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