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Bridge Collapse: Eighteen Months Later

July 27, 2023 8:00 am

According to the Pittsburgh Business Times, the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh ranked 4th in the top stories of 2022. Ranked higher were the New Normal (#1), Economic Stressors (#2), and the Shutdown of Tech Startups (#3).

As the first bridge collapse in nearly 100 years within the city limits of Pittsburgh, this remains a top story on urbantraipsing. In the six months since our last look at the bridge, there have been four important updates:

The preliminary findings of the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the collapse have been released
The bridge is now fully open to vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic
The two art installations have been installed
My feet are back to being fully functional

Update 1: Unsurprisingly, the NTSB’s investigation found that a decade of ignoring the calls for maintenance in the annual bridge inspection resulted in the deterioration of the steel structure of the bridge. The findings reference the inspections of bridges of similar construction in Pennsylvania following the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge. It noted that while those bridges have also experienced deferred maintenance, none of them are exhibiting deterioration as bad as Fern Hollow’s. The report did express concern that the status of similar bridges outside of Pennsylvania is unknown.

Update 2: While all lanes, the sidewalk, and multi-modal path are now open, there is evidence of some more work to be done. A little beyond the western end of the bridge, there are the preliminary markings for a crosswalk. Also, a “stop here on red” sign was installed, though it currently faces the park, not the traffic. Both of these suggest that a new traffic light will be installed to create a safe pedestrian crossing.

Update 3: John Peña’s A History of Fern Hollow Creek was installed on the bridge and Carin Mincemoyer’s Trail Meander was installed under the bridge. Mincemoyer’s alternative concept of a rain arch that paid homage to the arch of the former bridge did not move forward as it was found to not be feasible within the time and budget constraints of the project. I enjoyed the historical timeline of the bodies of water on this site illustrated in Peña’s installation – it provides and opportunity to stop and think about the different bodies of water that have shaped the landscape of Pittsburgh over millennia. I haven’t yet cracked the pattern of the order in which they are displayed, if there is one.

Update 4: As I do not currently have any mobility limitations, I was able to take many more pictures from different angles.

Photos: Fern Hollow

Below are the news updates on the Fern Hollow Bridge and other bridge maintenance and replacement efforts in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.

The artwork on the bridge was approved by the Public Art + Civic Design Commission in October 26, 2022 (Agenda, Application, Minutes). The artwork for the trail experience under the bridge was approved by the Public Art + Civic Design Commission in March 22, 2023 (Agenda, Application, Minutes).
PennDOT’s project page regarding the reconstruction of the bridge has not been updated since March 2022, except to add a sentence at the beginning to say that the bridge is now complete and operational prior to my last update in January, despite the fact that the bridge was fully closed again for a month in June 2023 to “complete all remaining bridge work.” (Mayor’s Press Release, June 8, 2023; WESA, June 8, 2023; Pittsburgh Magazine, June 9, 2023; Roads & Bridges, June 9, 2023; WPXI, June 11, 2023; WTAE, June 12, 2023)
Preliminary findings have been released in the National Transportation Safety Board’s ongoing investigation. Corrosion and deterioration of Fern Hollow Bridge’s uncoated weathering steel components is the key finding along. In addition, while the annual inspection of the bridge had identified maintenance activities that would have addressed these issues for over a decade, the maintenance was not completed.
The City created a Commission on Infrastructure Asset Reporting and Investment in March 2022, but no one has been appointed to the commission and it hasn’t been added yet to the city’s website listing all Boards and Commissions. Earlier this year, Mayor Gainey (WESA, June 26, 2023) and Councilwoman Strassburger (Pittsburgh Union Progress, April 3, 2023) both discussed the value of the commission – when it is operational. Neither discussed why the Mayor hasn’t appointed anyone to the board yet (Post-Gazette, June 8, 2023).
The temporary closure of the Charles Anderson Bridge turned into a long-term closure as expedited funding was negotiated to move the full rehabilitation forward sooner. The project may take until 2025 or 2027 and will include a new 2-way bike lane. The Panther Hollow Overpass will also be repaired while the Charles Anderson Bridge is closed because the overpass “is approaching the end of its functional life” and the road is already closed. (Mayor’s Press Release, March 16, 2023; KDKA, March 17, 2023; KDKA, March 23, 2023; WTAE, April 18, 2023; Patch, April 18, 2023; Post-Gazette, April 18, 2023; WPXI, April 19, 2023; WESA, June 1, 2023; Pittsburgh Engage project page)
Pittsburgh’s Swindell Bridge, which closed from July to September 2022 due to falling debris, closed for about a week in April to set-up platforms for future construction and then closed again in July to install new beams. One of the articles says that this will finish the work on the Swindell Bridge, while another says that a full rehabilitation project is yet to come. Pittsburgh’s Engage site only shows the public meeting from April. (Triblive, April 22, 2023; Mayor’s Press Release, April 21, 2023; WTAE, April 27, 2023; Mayor’s Press Release, April 27, 2023; KDKA, July 9, 2023; Pittsburgh Engage page; Mayor’s Press Release, July 7, 2023; Post-Gazette, July 10, 2023)
In searching for new news on the South Negley Avenue Bridge, I didn’t find anything new, but I found an article from 2015 that said the renovation of the bridge was scheduled to start 2 years from then – that has come and gone with no new start date in sight. In addition to not finding anything new about what is happening to this poor condition bridge, it’s not clear if the closure of the west sidewalk of the South Negley Avenue Bridge from 2022 officially ended or if pedestrians took matters into their own hands and moved the barriers aside themselves. (The Philadelphia Tribune, February 2, 2015)
Construction began on the 30th Street Bridge rehabilitation in April 2023. (Triblive, April 22, 2023; Mayor’s Press Release, April 21, 2023; Pittsburgh Engage page)
There’s evidence of that the construction of the new Davis Avenue Bridge is moving forward from the approval of the Public Art + Civic Design (PACD) Commission in March to the listing in the Construction Journal for bids. (Triblive, March 24, 2023; Construction Journal, June 9, 2023; Bridge Engage Page; Public Art Engage page; PACD Agenda, Application, Minutes)
Maintenance work on Swinburne Bridge was scheduled for May 2023. Full rehabilitation will happen later, after the Charles Anderson Bridge is reopened as the Swinburne Bridge is part of the detour route. (Mayor’s Press Release, May 19, 2023)
The Lincoln Avenue and Fremont Street bridges were closed indefinitely for repair January 2023 by PennDOT to the surprise of Millvale, PA – a small town across the 40th Street Bridge from Pittsburgh – the borough is seeking funding for the repairs (Borough’s Announcement, January 23, 2023)

Photos: Other Bridges

Historic Pittsburgh Bridge Disasters

According to Bob Regan’s 2006 book “The Bridges of Pittsburgh,” Pittsburgh is no stranger to bridge disasters:

1845 – The original Smithfield Street Bridge burned down
1851 – The 16th Street Bridge burned down
1865 – Two spans of the 16th Street Bridge was washed away in a flood
late 1880s – The 6th Street/St. Clair Street Bridge burned down
1903 – The Wabash Bridge collapsed during construction
1918 – The 16th Street Bridge burned down (again)
1921 – The 30th Street Bridge burned down
1927 – The Mount Washington Roadway Bridge collapsed during construction

Map of bridges discussed in the Bridge Collapse series:

Additional Resources:

Both PennDOT and the Federal Highway Administration have interactive maps of bridges for the state and country respective, and their inspection statuses. Pittsburgh now has the static Comprehensive Bridge Asset Management Program Report of the 147 bridges owned by the City of Pittsburgh.

Bridges in Pittsburgh with community engagement pages for pending rehabilitation or replacement projects:

Previous Fern Hollow Bridge Posts:

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Posted by Carolyn Ristau

Categories: Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Bridges

Tags: bridge collapse, bridges, Charles Anderson Bridge, Fern Hollow Bridge, Frick Park, pedestrians, Pittsburgh, Public Art, public space, redevelopment, Schenley Park, traffic, transportation, travel

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4 Responses to “Bridge Collapse: Eighteen Months Later”

Thanks Carolyn….

Some very interesting art work projects…is there a place to see them closer? i.e. can’t read what is inscribed on the bridge next to them

Have there been any ‘lessons learnt’ about the construction or the reconstruction?

James

Dr. James B Rieley
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Gaming the System (FT/Prentice Hall), Leadership (Hodder), Strategy and Performance (Hodder), and Change and Crisis Management (Hodder), Collaboration (Angelina), Leadership Lessons (volumes 1 and 2) (Seraphina), are available at major booksellers and Amazon.

By jbrieley rieley.com on July 27, 2023 at 10:20 am
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