A two-lane bridge in Pittsburgh collapsed on Friday hours ahead of a visit by President Joe Biden to the Pennsylvania city, a dramatic example of the urgency behind his drive to rebuild the United States’ creaky infrastructure.
Ten people sustained injuries, all of them minor, when the snow-covered span collapsed into a wooded gully at about 6am (1100 GMT), according to authorities.
The collapse also caused a massive natural gas leak, which prompted the temporary evacuation of several families from their homes until it was brought under control, Pittsburgh Fire Chief Darryl Jones said at a news conference.
“It sounded like a snowplow,” a witness told television station KDKA, calling the timing of the collapse on the day of Biden’s visit “an amazing coincidence”.
Biden was told of the bridge incident and will proceed with his trip as planned, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. The White House was in touch with state and local officials about the collapse, she added.
The incident was a high-profile example of the need to rebuild the country’s aging bridges, highways and other infrastructure with money from a $1 trillion spending bill that was a signature achievement of Biden’s first year in office.
A photo posted on social media by KDKA showed several vehicles piled in the rubble of the collapsed roadway at the bottom of a wooded gully. At least one vehicle, which appeared to be a bus, was dangling at the edge of part of the bridge. A strong smell of gas permeated the area, Pittsburgh Public Safety said in a Twitter message.
Pennsylvania has 3,198 bridges rated as being in poor condition, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
