A two-lane bridge in a Pittsburgh park collapsed in early morning on Jan. 28, injuring 10 people, including an unknown number of first responders.
根据曼城公共安全部的数据，几辆车辆，包括60英尺的铰接式过境巴士，当时崩溃发生在崩溃时，根据曼城的公共安全部。最初的报道将伤害描述为次要的，尽管在基础山沟的斜坡上需要人链以将人们从公共汽车中救出。报道还没有显示对使用桥下流行步道的行人受伤的报道。
While rescue operations concluded around 8:30 a.m., search and rescue crews were still searching for potential victims underneath the rubble.
The collapse also apparently damaged a gas main attached to the bridge, which was immediately shut off by the local utility.
The National Transportation Safety Board “go-team” arrived at the collapse site in the afternoon.
Built in 1970, the 447-ft-long, three-span continuous steel bridge over Fern Hollow Creek in Frick Park has received poor superstructure ratings for more than a decade, according to National Bridge Inventory data. Prior to the most recent inspection in September 2021, for which data has yet to be made available, data indicated a recommendation for rehabilitation, citing “general structure deterioration or inadequate strength.”
Although Pennsylvania has regularly ranked among states with the most structurally deficient bridges, the state has gradually reduced the number of problematic structures. According to NBI data, 14.6% of Pennsylvania’s more than 25,400 bridges were classified as structurally deficient in 2020, down from 18% four years earlier.
The collapse occurred just hours before President Joe Biden was scheduled to visit Pittsburgh to discuss infrastructure.
The bridge is owned and maintained by the city of Pittsburgh, but the Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation “is actively engaged in the response to the collapse,” Alexis Campbell, a PennDOT spokesperson, told ENR in an email. “We will remain engaged with the city, our federal partners and other stakeholders throughout the process in whatever capacity we are able.”
Campbell added: “Today’s events further stress the importance of President Biden’s Infrastructure Law and funding for critical infrastructure repairs in the commonwealth."
Biden Visits Collapse Site, Promises Action
Biden had scheduled a trip to Pittsburgh to speak about his administration’s work in stimulating U.S. manufacturing. He had planned a speech at a former steel mill that is now a Carnegie Mellon University research and development facility.
But after hearing of the early morning bridge collapse, Biden changed his original plan and went first to Frick Park, the site of the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse.
At the site, Biden met and talked with local law enforcement officials about topics including a reported gas leak there. Biden also noted that there are 43,000 bridges in subpar condition nationwide and said, “We’re going to fix them all…this is going to be a gigantic change.”
Biden then traveled to Carnegie Mellon’s Mill 19 facility. He led off his remarks there by talking about the bridge accident, saying that the structure was 50 years old and “had been rated in poor condition for the past 10 years.” Biden added that there are another 3,300 bridges in Pennsylvania, including some that are “just as old and just as decrepit...condition as that bridge was.”
Biden said that the problem isn’t limited just to Pennsylvania. “Across the country,” he said, “there are 43,000 bridges in poor condition. It’s just simply unacceptable.”
他指出，最近颁布的基础设施投资和就业法案已针对维修和升级桥梁的资金。IIJA的关键部分是一项新的公式桥梁计划，其中包括Keystone州的五年内16亿美元，包括2022财政年度的3.27亿美元，用于桥梁维修。拜登说：“我们必须继续前进。”“我们必须搬家。”
[View ENR 1/14/2022 article on Formula Bridge Program这里。]。
拜登补充说：“我们将与宾夕法尼亚州和全国各地的其他成千上万的桥一起重建那座桥梁。”
The text of this article has been updated to reflect new information.
