10 hurt in Pittsburgh bridge collapse ahead of Biden visit on infrastructure

Jan. 28 (UPI) -- A bridge collapsed in Pittsburgh on Friday morning, hours before President Joe Biden traveled to the city to talk about the new infrastructure law and other issues.

The Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh's Point Breeze neighborhood near Frick Park collapsed about 6 a.m. Several vehicles and a Port Authority bus were on the bridge at the time. Ten people were injured.

Pittsburgh Fire Chief Darryl Jones said three people were transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and a fourth was taken to a hospital after the crash.

"We were fortunate," Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said Friday morning, that no one was more seriously injured or killed, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Acting Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt said first responders worked quickly to reach everyone on the bridge and evacuate them safely.

They used ropes to rappel under the bridge to make sure no one was trapped, Jones said.

The collapse also caused a gas leak in the area, and several families were briefly evacuated before service was restored.

About 14,500 vehicles a day use the bridge.

It has been rated in poor condition in inspections dating back to 2011 and again last year, the Post Gazette reported.

Biden visited the site of the bridge collapse before traveling to Carnegie Mellon University, where he spoke about the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, which provides funding to repair roads and bridges across the United States.