Fern Hollow Bridge will open this week, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg confirms
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The Fern Hollow Bridge will be open this week, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg confirmed.
The Fern Hollow Bridge, used by thousands, will be open by Christmas Eve.
"It's going to be opened this week, and that is really a remarkable thing when you consider that's less than a year after the collapse," Buttigieg said.
The collapse attracted special attention from President Biden because he happened to be in Pittsburgh just hours after the bridge collapsed last Jan. 28.
Buttigieg credited the president's bipartisan infrastructure bill, opposed by local Republicans, as expediting the process.
Buttigieg said, "$25.3 million in federal funds were made available for the project and was able to proceed without coming out of other critical projects in the region, thanks to some flexibility that exists with some of the new funds coming in under the president's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law."
Sources say the bridge should be opened by Friday, once the weather allows lines to be painted on the surface.
In another development, Buttigieg announced another $28.4 million to upgrade five stations along the T's red line in the South Hills to make them more accessible to all.
"Many transit systems, including in Pittsburgh, were parts of the system built before the ADA went into effect. What that means is for wheelchair users, not to mention anyone who is pushing a stroller or for any other reason might need an accommodation like an elevator, it has not been possible," he said.