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Pittsburgh's new Fern Hollow Bridge is engineering marvel, officials say
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | December 22, 2022 | Kris B. Mamula

Posted on 12/22/2022 8:40:28 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Eleven months after a catastrophic collapse into a Frick Park ravine, a new Fern Hollow Bridge was celebrated Wednesday as a model of unprecedented intergovernmental cooperation and an engineering marvel, completed in the fraction of the time needed for similar projects.

Final railing installation work continued as Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and other elected officials gathered in the cold sunshine for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting at the four-lane Forbes Avenue span, which links Regent Square and surrounding neighborhoods to Squirrel Hill. The bridge could be open for traffic as early as Thursday, but the completion date PennDOT officials have given is before the end of the year.

“We looked in horror at what happened at this bridge,” Mr. Wolf told several dozen people on hand for the ceremony. “I saw the damage. This is the power of government that works for people.”

The bridge collapse was also a “visceral reminder in a race to repair our infrastructure,” he said.

County Executive Rich Fitzgerald echoed the sentiment, saying, “Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure — we got to make sure we invest in infrastructure.”

Pennsylvania is in line for $1.6 billion in bridge repair money, state Secretary of Transportation Yassmin Gramian said. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which earmarked $350 billion for highway repairs through 2026, has already helped fix 2,400 Pennsylvania bridges this year.

“We were all in this together,” she said, adding that the new bridge marked a “major milestone in the wake of a tragic accident.”

(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Chit/Chat; History; Local News; Miscellaneous; Outdoors; Society; Travel
KEYWORDS: collapse; construction; edgainey; fernhollowbridge; frickpark; infrastructure; penndotstinks; pennsylvania; pittsburgh; reconstruction; squirrelhill; tomwolf; transportation

1 posted on 12/22/2022 8:40:28 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Well, that’s one bridge I will avoid.

Glowing, gushing exultation over man’s achievements is a certain way to curse them.


2 posted on 12/22/2022 8:45:26 PM PST by Westbrook (The Democrats are wizards at two things: Finding votes and losing evidence.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Wow. PPG never fails with the hyperbole. View the video at the link to see what PPG considers an engineering marvel. It’s a true masterpiece of civil engineering🤣🤣🤣


3 posted on 12/22/2022 8:45:34 PM PST by ConservativeInPA (Stupidly is a moral problem, not an intellectual problem. )
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Imagine this news story about a new bridge. There is no picture of the new bridge. But there are pictures of a lot of politicians.

4 posted on 12/22/2022 8:59:39 PM PST by Governor Dinwiddie (LORD, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.)
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

Yup. Ought to be rated R: Lots of self-gratification going on...

Seriously: I wanted to see this ‘engineering marvel’.

Then I found a pic of the bridge. ROFLMAO

Worse, NTSB still lists NO CAUSE of the collapse after almost a YEAR.


5 posted on 12/22/2022 10:02:03 PM PST by logi_cal869 (-cynicus the "concern troll" a/o 10/03/2018 /!i!! &@$%&*(@ -)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
I am no structural engineer but I do know all bridges have ratings concerning loads. After looking on the net the average EV weighs about 2500 pounds more than a gasoline powered vehicle. Are all bridges being built now being designed to allow for all this additional weight? Are the existing bridges going to handle all this additional weight during a traffic jam? I believe if that had been an EV bus it would have happened a lot earlier too.

On another matter what happens when an EV catches fire in parking garage with prestressed planks? Just throwing that out there.

6 posted on 12/22/2022 11:21:13 PM PST by Plumberman27
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To: Governor Dinwiddie
Actually took awhile to find a pic of the (mostly) completed bridge.

Almost like the newspaper didn't have any interns to send out on a cold, icy day to snap a pic.

The bridge opened with a single lane of traffic in each direction. The shared-use path on the southern side of the span is open to bicycles and pedestrians.

Looks like any of thousands of other concrete quick build bridges to me. As part of a $1.3 BILLION dollar political payoff.

7 posted on 12/23/2022 1:58:30 AM PST by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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To: texas booster

There was a bridge replaced near me.

It was an old wooden single lane structure from the 20’s/30’s.

They local town has been trying to get it replaced for at least 10 years could be 20 time fly’s.

Good infrastructure makes this country great.

Saves me an extra 4 miles each trip.

Increases the value of my property and the timber on it.

I am sure the people that use the new bridge here and there really like it.

Buying votes could be, seeing the need could be.

Don’t like paying for roads don’t drive don’t buy fuel.

The gas tax that pays for most of these projects is a user tax.

Don’t use them don’t pay.


8 posted on 12/23/2022 3:01:11 AM PST by riverrunner
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Florida put entire causeways up in a matter of days after this latest hurricane. I’m not seeing an engineering marvel. Typical hyperbole from DemocRats. If they did it, it must be the best thing since sliced bread.


9 posted on 12/23/2022 3:53:05 AM PST by Greenidgypsy (I loathe the MSM.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
....as a model of unprecedented intergovernmental cooperation...

I stopped reading at that point.

10 posted on 12/23/2022 4:18:34 AM PST by ReformedBeckite (1 of 3 I'm only allowing my self each day)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

The real marvel is how the bridge just happened to collapse only hours before Brandon came to town to push the infrastructure bill.


11 posted on 12/23/2022 4:26:34 AM PST by Fresh Wind (Fake news, fake pandemic, fake vaccine, fake election, fake president.)
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To: Greenidgypsy

The city ignored the obvious deterioration and spent the money on “more worthwhile” political projects.

There’s nothing particularly innovative about the new bridge.

They used very long precast beams which are a common construction technique.

I saw Fetterman speak on the TV at the VA the day of the collapse. It was obvious then he wasn’t suitable for political office.


12 posted on 12/23/2022 5:21:03 AM PST by meatloaf
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks; 3catsanadog; agrace; airborne; Ayn Rand wannabe; bdeaner; Benrand; ...
Send FReepmail if yunz want on/off BPT list, 'n'at
Learn Pittsburghese!
The List of Ping Lists

13 posted on 12/23/2022 6:48:55 AM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: logi_cal869

Cause of collapse - background for Biden photo op.


14 posted on 12/23/2022 8:02:50 AM PST by airborne (Thank you Rush for helping me find FreeRepublic! R)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Video of walking across bridge makes it seem very bouncy. Also it doesn’t look like four lanes.


15 posted on 12/23/2022 8:24:16 AM PST by gnickgnack2 ( Another bad day for Trump, he only got seven major things accomplished .)
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To: texas booster

And that is a marvel on engineering?????????????


16 posted on 12/23/2022 8:30:53 AM PST by Captain Peter Blood
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To: Captain Peter Blood

They made it wide enough to have four lanes … but added one bike lane (maybe a second?) and spend more time patting themselves on the back rather than solving traffic problems.


17 posted on 12/23/2022 2:51:59 PM PST by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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