The morning after it was hoisted hundreds of feet into the air and out of a ravine in Frick Park, Port Authority bus 3309 was towed from the scene Tuesday morning.
Before the bus could be freed from the Fern Hollow Bridge wreckage Monday evening, HazMat crews had to drain nearly 100 gallons of diesel fuel from the 60-foot bus.
Public Safety officials documented the process through photos posted to the department’s Facebook page. Officials said crews lashed together ladders and used belay lines to safely access the bus.
There has been no shortage of news in the days since the articulated bus and four passenger vehicles fell from the bridge to a ravine below when the 447-foot-span – part of Forbes Avenue that connects Oakland to Regent Square and Wilkinsburg – gave way.
Here’s a collection of the latest news. Follow Triblive.com for more updates on what comes next in the investigation and clean-up.
Federal funding for new bridge
Plans for a new bridge are already underway, with PennDOT setting aside more than $25 million in federal funds for the project. Officials will focus on bridge designs that can be built quickly and match the aesthetics of the park. Read more about the project here.
PennDOT is assisting the city with the design and construction of the new bridge, though the bridge will be maintained by Pittsburgh once it is completed.
More transparency on Pittsburgh infrastructure
Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O’Connor introduced legislation Tuesday to create an infrastructure commission that he hopes would prevent an event like Friday’s Fern Hollow Bridge collapse from happening again
“These bills make the process of maintaining and improving our infrastructure more transparent,” O’Connor said.
Read about this effort here.
Bus freed from bridge wreckage
The crane was moved into place Saturday afternoon but had to be built out with counterweights and other safety measures, and the process to lift the 21-ton bus started about 5 p.m. Monday.
Once secured, the Port Authority bus was lifted hundreds of feet into the air, clearing the tree line, before it was placed onto Forbes Avenue. Dozens came out to watch the spectacle. Read about it here.
Traffic detours around the fallen bridge
Traffic routes from the city of Pittsburgh and detours are as follows:
• Avoid the area of the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse and the intersection of Forbes and South Braddock avenues.
• Local drivers and residents should follow South Dallas Avenue to Penn Avenue to South Braddock Avenue
• All regional traffic should use the Parkway East instead of Penn Avenue and other local streets.
Click here for Port Authority detours.
In addition to the reopening of Frick Park, Public Safety has created an observation area for the public.
It will be open from dawn to dusk. Parking details can be found below. pic.twitter.com/DVK0peAtEU
— Pittsburgh Public Safety (@PghPublicSafety) January 31, 2022
This Pittsburgh couple survived the collapse
“My father described when he saw the bridge buckling, he thought he was going to die.” Click here for the full story of the Perry family, who plummeted on the bridge in their red pickup truck.
Bridges in ‘poor’ condition
Hundreds of bridges across the state are considered to be in poor condition. Click here to see how many and read about what the rating actually means.
