(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Not 10 hours before President Joe Biden was set to visit Pittsburgh, a bridge in the city’s Frick Park collapsed, injuring 10 people.
DRONE 11 just flew over the bridge collapse site in Pittsburgh. You can really see how bad the situation is. We’re LIVE on Channel 11 now with continuing breaking news coverage.
LIVE UPDATES >> https://t.co/s3HjlJ7vxq
PHOTOS FROM THE SCENE >> https://t.co/D5Lg7pS3tr pic.twitter.com/zuOGZ1Pqbf— WPXI (@WPXI) January 28, 2022
Four people were hospitalized; none of the injuries were reported as life-threatening.
The cause of the collapse is currently under investigation, but it seems as if Pittsburgh residents have been keeping their eyes on the bridge more than their Public Works department.
Pittsburgh’s Public Works director is going to have some explaining to do about the Frick Park bridge collapse. https://t.co/CqPJpsG0WM
— Grant Stern is boosted! (@grantstern) January 28, 2022
The bridge—which has been estimated to carry about 14,500 vehicles a day, according to the Washington Post—has been rated in poor condition dating back to 2011, according to the U.S. Transportation Department’s National Bridge Inventory.
In fact, Pennsylvania is ranked as having the fifth-worst quality bridges in the country, with 12,000 in need of repair.
The media is making use of Biden’s visit to the site of the collapse as an prop to make everyone think the president’s Build Back Better plan is actually about infrastructure.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Mr. Biden is scheduled to deliver remarks in Hazelwood centered around infrastructure, among other topics—in an effort to tout the recent passage of the $1 trillion infusion into roads, bridges and the rest of America’s structural backbone.”
The president’s visit Pittsburgh, a big city in a purple state, is likely damage control, as his abysmal approval ratings continue to suffer.
Pennsylvania is set to be a pivotal state for the upcoming midterms, with the control for the chamber up in the air due to Sen. Patrick Toomey’s retirement.
