Pittsburgh commuters rescued from collapsed bridge

Rescuers rappelled nearly 150 feet down a snowy ravine to recover people when a 52-year-old bridge collapsed early Friday morning. Four vehicles were on the bridge at the time. Some teams formed human chains to pull passengers out of a dangling Port Authority bus caught on a ledge. At least 10 people suffered minor injuries, and three people were taken to the hospital. The collapse happened just hours before President Joe Biden visited the city to promote his infrastructure bill, which earmarks $1.6 billion for Pennsylvania bridge maintenance.

Was the bridge in bad shape before it collapsed? A gas distribution line that ran under the bridge broke and caused a natural gas leak when the bridge fell, but the company confirmed there was no evidence a gas explosion caused the disaster. The 447-foot steel span was built in 1970 and carries roughly 14,500 vehicles per day along the popular route into downtown Pittsburgh. City officials said the latest September inspection gave them no cause for concern. But a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spreadsheet lists the bridge’s road surface and superstructure condition as “poor.”

Dig deeper: Read Esther Eaton’s report in The Stew on the details of Biden’s infrastructure agenda.