US President Biden repeatedly emphasizes how urgently the infrastructure in the USA needs to be modernized. Pittsburgh shows how dilapidated some buildings are: an important bridge collapses there – just before Biden visits the city.
Multiple vehicles were damaged in the incident, Pittsburgh, January 28, 2022.
(dpa) A few hours before US President Joe Biden was to visit Pittsburgh, a snow-covered bridge collapsed in the US metropolis. Mayor Ed Gainey said Friday at the scene of the incident there were no fatalities. “We were lucky.” Three people were injured, but no one’s life is in danger. The bridge, an important transport link, was last inspected last September.
Biden visited the scene of the accident after arriving in the state of Pennsylvania and spoke to emergency services. Afterwards he wanted to speak in Pittsburgh, as previously planned, about the modernization of the dilapidated infrastructure in the USA.
Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman said on CNN that the collapse underlined in a “terrible way” how urgent the infrastructure deficiencies in the United States are. The White House said Biden had been briefed on the incident, but it didn’t change plans for the visit. One is in contact with the local authorities “to find out whether we can provide additional help”.
Buses and vehicles affected
Fetterman said of the collapsed bridge: “Fortunately, because of the weather, schools start two hours late, so there was less traffic than on a normal day.” The bridge was an important traffic artery into the city. He himself drove over the bridge several times. “It’s surreal.” Pictures showed a bus and some vehicles on the remains of the bridge.
The bridge’s collapse points are clearly visible on the drone image of the bridge. January 28, 2022
Fire Chief Darryl Jones said there were three to four vehicles on the bridge at the time of the collapse. The collapse also led to a “massive gas leak”. The gas was temporarily turned off. The cause of the bridge collapse is being investigated. The US Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said a first investigation team was on the way to the scene of the accident.
Biden signed a legislative package last year designed to modernize the country’s infrastructure. Around 550 billion US dollars (476 billion euros) in new investments in infrastructure are planned over the next few years. In total – including previously estimated funds – the package has a volume of more than one trillion US dollars. The infrastructure offensive is one of the core domestic political projects in Biden’s term of office.