Pittsburgh Bridge Collapse: What Comes Next

PITTSBURGH, PA — The Fern Hollow Bridge collapse likely will wreak havoc for motorists in the city's east end for several years.

The span over Frick Park that collapsed on Friday had been rated in poor condition for more than a decade, a review of National Bridge Inventory records show. Additionally, the city of Pittsburgh, which owns the structure, was notified on Twitter four years ago that one of the bridge's major beams was rusted through entirely.

Ten people were injured early Friday when the 500-foot bridge along Forbes Avenue in the city's Squirrel Hill-Regent Square area fell into a park ravine. None of the injuries are life-threatening, Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said.

President Joe Biden, who had been scheduled to appear in the city on Friday to discuss infrastructure issues, toured the site Friday before delivering his remarks in Hazelwood.

What comes next likely won't be pretty for motorists in the area.

Construction of the city's last major span, the Greenfield Bridge over the Parkway East, took two years before its 2017 opening. However, that did not include the time spent on design work for the structure.

City officials have not yet speculated on how long it will take to replace the span, which carries about 14,ooo vehicles a day. But given the Greenfield Bridge timeline, it's not unreasonable to expect detours in the area for the next two to three years.

That could cause snarls on the Parkway East inbound, as the Edgewood-Swissvale exit won't be useful for motorists to use to avoid traffic tie-ups around the Squirrel Hill Tunnel as they will not be able to use Forbes Avenue into the city.

Outbound, the most likely detour will be South Dallas Avenue and Penn Avenue to South Braddock Avenue. The detour could tie up Penn Avenue for traffic coming in and out of Wilkinsburg.

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