Ten people suffered minor injuries when a two-lane vehicle bridge collapsed in Pittsburgh early Friday, hours before President Biden was due to visit the city to discuss a $1 trillion infrastructure plan. The bridge, which stretches over a wooded ravine and creek in the Point Breeze neighborhood's Frick Park, collapsed around 6:50am, per the Washington Post and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. KDKA shared a photo showing several vehicles amid the wreckage with others teetered above it. Rescuers rappelled 150 feet into the chasm while "others formed a human chain to help rescue multiple people from a dangling [Port Authority] bus," per the AP.
Just after 8:30am, once the vehicles had been cleared away, Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire Chief Darryl Jones told reporters that 10 people were injured, including three bus passengers who were taken to hospitals, per KDKA. None of the injuries are life-threatening, he said. Public Safety said nearby homes had been evacuated because a natural gas line had been cut, though the gas has since been turned off and residents allowed to return to their homes. "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," reads a White House statement, per the AP, noting the president will go ahead with his scheduled trip.
That will include a speech on the newly signed $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which allocates funding to repair and maintain roads, bridges, railways, and other physical infrastructure. "This bipartisan infrastructure law is critical," Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said, per KDKA. "At the end of the day it’s critical that we get this funding." He noted the bridge had been inspected in September. Biden is scheduled to speak at Mill 19 in Hazelwood in the afternoon, per the Post-Gazette. (More bridge collapse stories.)
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