Amy Love

Opinions Editor

aml7458@psu.edu

On the morning of January 28, residents near Fern Hollow Creek heard a loud noise. The Forbes Avenue Bridge collapsed causing a Port Authority bus and several other cars to land in the ravine below. 

City officials claimed that the bridge came down at 6:39 a.m. Witnesses around the area said that “the loud noise from the collapse was followed by a hissing sound and the smell of natural gas.” 

Pittsburgh Public Safety reported that there was a strong smell of gas in the area and confirmed that a gas line had been cut. Residents in the area were evacuated. 

Ten people were injured and none of the injuries were fatal. Out of the ten, three had to be transported to a nearby hospital to treat their injuries. Two hours later, a fourth person was taken to the hospital to treat their injuries. According to UPMC, all of them are in fair condition. 

The collapse happened hours before President Biden was scheduled to visit. His purpose was to highlight the importance of his push for infrastructure improvement. President Biden had to alter his plans and visited the collapsed bridge.

The bridge, which was forty years old, has been reported as being in “poor condition” for a while. According to the National Bridge Inventory, there were previous inspections dating back to 2011 that showed that the bridge was rated in poor conditions. In the report, this was due to the aging conditions. The report had estimated repairs at $1.5 million. 

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said the bridge was inspected in September 2021. The latest inspection is not available for the public to see. 

It is unclear what exactly caused the bridge to collapse. 

The Forbes Avenue Bridge is a staple in the surrounding community. It leads to neighborhoods such as Squirrel Hill and Oakland and is considered to be a popular route to Downtown Pittsburgh. According to state records, the bridge carries more than 14,000 cars per day. 

City Councilman Corey O’Connor, whose district includes the location of the bridge, stated the following: “I think we have to as a city moving forward with so many bridges, tunnels, things like that, we have to look at what those inspections mean, get into greater detail. I know there are state and federal rules and regulations around these bridges. Maybe even at a local level we need to bump up our standards so something like this doesn’t happen again.”

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey also said “We know we have bridges we need to take care of.” Gainey then stressed the importance of funding in order to improve the bridges in poor condition. 

On February 3, it was announced that the bridge is being rebuilt and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, PennDOT, will utilize $25.3 million of federal grant money to do so. 

Based on a ranking of states with the most bridges in poor conditions, Pennsylvania ranks second. There is an estimate that a total of 3,198 bridges are in poor condition in Pennsylvania.