Bridge collapse reported in Pittsburgh hours ahead of planned Biden visit

A two-lane bridge in Pittsburgh collapsed early Friday morning, just hours before President Joe Biden was set to visit the city to talk about, among other things, the benefits of his infrastructure package. That package includes bridge maintenance.

“@POTUS has been told of the bridge collapse in Pittsburgh. Our team is in touch with state and local officials on the ground as they continue to gather information about the cause of the collapse,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted Friday morning. “The president will proceed with trip planned for today and will stay in touch with officials on the ground about additional assistance we can provide.”

According to Pittsburgh Fire Chief Darryl Jones, “three to four vehicles were on the bridge at the time” of the collapse. 10 people suffered minor injuries, with no deaths. While the bridge collapse wasn’t as disastrous as it could have been, rescuers still had to form a human chain to save multiple people from a dangling bus.

“Technicians rappelled down using ropes to go down over the side. They helped the firefighters that were here initially on scene,” Jones said. “Also did like a daisy chain with hands, just grabbing people and pulling them up.”

According to authorities, the bridge was last inspected in September of 2021. Those reports were not readily available. However, a September 2019 inspection from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Bridge Inventory found the deck and superstructure of the bridge to be in poor condition. A spreadsheet on Pennsylvania’s DOT website listed the bridge’s overall condition as poor, meaning “deterioration of primary structural elements has advanced.”

The Pittsburgh bridge collapse could offer Biden a striking example of what he often says is the urgent need for investments in the country’s infrastructure. Pittsburgh’s mayor agreed that there was a need in his comments following the collapse.

“This bipartisan infrastructure law is critical to southwest Pennsylvania and the city of Pittsburgh. We know we have bridges that we need to take care of,” Mayor Ed Gainey (D-Pittsburgh) said. “With [Biden] coming today to talk about this infrastructure bill to discuss why this, why this funding is so important, today is significant of that.”