Looking back at one year since the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed, sending six vehicles into the ravine below and putting a spotlight on infrastructure issues.
Laura Malt Schneiderman
lschneiderman@post-gazette.com
Jan. 27, 2023
Work continues under the Fern Hollow Bridge. It was reopened for traffic last month. (Post-Gazette)
The Fern Hollow Bridge.was reopened for traffic last month. (Post-Gazette)
A neighbor reports hearing a “loud boom, then a monster sound.”
Initial access and victim search take place early on Jan. 28, 2022. (Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Officer Tyler Nestler)
Public safety officials advise commuters to avoid the area around South Braddock and Forbes avenues, noting several minutes later that there was a strong smell of natural gas in the area.
UPDATE:
There is a strong smell of natural gas in the area. Please avoid if at all possible. Public Information Officer is en route https://t.co/itk26axnQg— Pittsburgh Public Safety (@PghPublicSafety) January 28, 2022
Mayor Ed Gainey and fire Chief Darryl Jones give a short preliminary briefing on the situation.
Pittsburgh fire chief Darryl Jones speaks next to mayor Ed Gainey on the scene of a bridge collapse. (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
President Joe Biden, already set to visit Pittsburgh that day to tout his infrastructure plan, is briefed on the collapse.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says in a tweet:
“@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.”
.@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.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) January 28, 2022
President Biden arrives at the collapse site.
President Biden talks with Mayor Ed Gainey at the site of the bridge collapse. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
A massive crane begins the process of removing cars and a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus from the Fern Hollow rubble. The 60-foot articulated bus rising from the rubble drew onlookers who called the spectacle “hard to comprehend.”
A crane hoists the Port Authority bus from the collapsed Fern Hollow Bridge on Jan. 31, 2022. (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
The National Transportation Safety Board releases its preliminary report, which focuses on the facts of the collapse but does not touch on the cause.
A Penn Hills couple injured in the collapse announce their intent to sue PennDOT, the city and Pittsburgh Regional Transit.
An overturned car is seen in the wreckage of the collapsed Fern Hollow Bridge. (Post-Gazette)
PennDOT announces that reconstruction could begin as soon as the following month.
The National Transportation Safety Board releases the first photos captured by cameras on the Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus involved in the collapse.
Construction begins in earnest, with crews boring holes under the bridge for caissons. Concrete was poured later that week.
Forbes Avenue remains closed while construction on the Fern Hollow Bridge takes place on May 9. (Post-Gazette)
The driver of the Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus involved in the collapse files a motion asking the city to turn over records pertaining to the bridge, noting he anticipates filing a lawsuit. Lawyers for two others involved in the collapse also file writs of summons.
Vehicles and a Port Authority bus are seen in the wreckage of the collapsed Fern Hollow Bridge on Jan. 29, 2022. (Post-Gazette)
A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette investigation shows that officials knew the bridge was in grim condition as early as October 2021, with rust corrosion wearing holes through steel support legs and cross-beams disconnected from their connection to the support legs.
This closeup photo taken during an inspection of Fern Hollow Bridge on September 11, 2020, shows the dramatic deterioration of the steel web and stiffeners of the same section of the bottom of the southwest leg. (PennDOT)
The first 100-ton beams begin their 124-mile journey from Blair County to Frick Park. Each beam is about 150 feet long, eight feet high and four feet wide. Cheryl Moon-Sirianni, district executive for PennDOT, says the bridge could open before the end of the year.
One of the final Fern Hollow Bridge beams is transported along Forbes Avenue Aug. 11, 2022, en route to the Point Breeze side of Fern Hollow Bridge. (Morgan Timms/Post-Gazette)
The final 100-ton beams arrive from Blair County.
President Biden visits the bridge construction site to tout the good his infrastructure bill has done since it was passed.
President Joe Biden speaks about his infrastructure agenda on Oct. 20, 2022, at Fern Hollow Bridge. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The new Fern Hollow Bridge opens.
Traffic zips eastward over Frick Park via the newly opened Fern Hollow Bridge. (Post-Gazette)
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