New bridge opens in place of collapsed Pittsburgh span

A new bridge replacing replace one that collapsed earlier this year in Pittsburgh has opened to traffic.

Cars began crossing new Fern Hollow bridge on Thursday — less than a year since a 50-year-old bridge carrying Forbes Avenue over a ravine collapsed on the morning of Jan. 28.

No one died but a few people were injured in the collapse that happened just hours before President Joe Biden arrived in the city to promote his $1 trillion infrastructure law.

Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday said the speedy completion of the bridge was “the power of government working for the people in Pennsylvania.”

The collapse sent a city bus and four cars about 100 feet (30 meters) down the ravine. Another vehicle drove off the east bridge abutment and landed on its roof.

The National Transportation Safety Board has said it is investigating the cause of the collapse.

Up to $25.3 million in federal funds were bring used to build a new structure, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has said.

Officials say they sped up the work by several years by running multiple design phases simultaneously, including foundation, substructure, superstructure, utility relocation, environmental and aesthetic work.