President Biden focuses on infrastructure during visit to Fern Hollow Bridge construction site while in Pittsburgh

It's hard not to stop at Primanti Brothers when you come to Pittsburgh, and President Joe Biden is no exception.

He stopped at the Moon Township location on his way out of town today.  

After leaving Pittsburgh, President Biden headed to Philadelphia for a fundraiser Thursday evening for Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania. The details, including the time and location, for the visit to Philly are still unknown.  

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PITTSBURGH (AP) -- "When you see these projects in your neighborhoods and cranes going up, shovels in the ground, I want you to feel the way I feel: Pride," Biden said, speaking next to a tall, yellow crane at the edge of the new span of Fern Hollow. "Pride in what we can do when we work together."

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While visiting Fern Hollow Bridge, President Biden talked infrastructure and funding. You can watch his full speech here.

A member of the carpenters union made some opening remarks ahead of President Biden's speech at the bridge construction site.   

State leaders like Gov. Tom Wolf, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Sen. Bob Casey, Congressmen Conor Lamb and Mike Doyle, and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald sat in the crowd.

President Biden arrived early at the Fern Hollow Bridge site. He was scheduled to begin speaking around 2:15 p.m., but started addressing the crowd around 1:45 p.m.

As expected, Biden addressed the state of the country's infrastructure and funding to repair it during his remarks. 

The president touted his infrastructure bill as an investment to address the needs of our roads and bridges. There are more than 45,000 bridges across the country in poor condition, he said.

Pennsylvania has gotten $5.2 billion for infrastructure projects this year, President Biden said. In addition, he said the Fern Hollow Bridge reconstruction has supported more than 100 good-paying union jobs.

"Pennsylvania's been able to repair Fern Hollow Bridge in less than a year," Biden said. "By Christmas, God willing, we'll be walking … I'm coming back to walk over this sucker. Although, my staff said to me, 'You realize how many times you've been to Pittsburgh?' They said 19."

Other infrastructure investments include high speed internet, clean water, locks and dams, and, specifically to our area, updates at the Pittsburgh International Airport.

President Biden spoke for about 15 minutes, closing with his optimism for the future.

President Biden has arrived at Fern Hollow Bridge to discuss infrastructure funding for the country.  

Among the construction equipment, a podium and chairs have been set up near the Fern Hollow Bridge construction site.

President Biden is expected to arrive there around 2:15 p.m.

President Biden has arrived in Pittsburgh to discuss infrastructure ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

Air Force One touched down at Pittsburgh International Airport just after noon. 

Rolling closures are expected across the city as he heads to the Fern Hollow Bridge construction site.

He's expected to give remarks about the country's infrastructure at the construction site. The day it collapsed in January, President Biden had a pre-planned visit to Pittsburgh to talk about his infrastructure plan for the country.

KDKA's Chris Hoffman reports

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh became a symbol of the country's troubled infrastructure, collapsing into a ravine earlier this year just before President Joe Biden visited the city.

Biden detoured to survey the scene, where vehicles were stranded on shards of roadway and several people were injured, and he pledged that help was on the way.

The Democratic president hopes to turn the bridge into a symbol of success for his administration when he returns to Pittsburgh on Thursday, less than three weeks before the midterm elections.

A new span is being built, and it could be finished by December. The White House is crediting the bipartisan infrastructure law championed by Biden for the accelerated timeline.

The legislation is one of Biden's most notable successes from the first two years of his term, and he repeatedly emphasizes its impact while traveling the country to roadways, airplane terminals and seaports. Out of roughly $1 trillion in spending, about $40 billion is dedicated to bridges.

"We've made tremendous progress," said Mitch Landrieu, a senior White House adviser tasked with overseeing spending and implementation of the massive infrastructure bill. Landrieu said the funding for the swift repair came in part because of the infrastructure law funding going to the state. "We have actually rebuilt this bridge within a year."

"The president is standing in the breach and actually demonstrating with historic legislation that he's passed, that his choices are different and better for the country."

The Biden administration has sought to increase the pace of building infrastructure projects, hosting a summit last week at the White House to help state and local government officials streamline their processes.

The push to speed up the permitting, design and construction process has come as high inflation has pushed up costs and caused delays. The Commerce Department has an initiative to coordinate the installation of water pipes and broadband and power lines to avoid tearing up roads multiple times. Also, the Transportation Department launched an internal center to advise on best practices for construction.

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democrat running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, is expected to be on hand when Biden visits the Pittsburgh bridge.

Biden, before boarding his helicopter on the White House South Lawn, challenged a reporter who suggested that few Democratic candidates have done events with him ahead of the midterm elections.

"That's not true," Biden responded. "There have been 15. Count, kid, count."

After the bridge, Biden plans to stop in Philadelphia for a fundraiser with Fetterman, trying to replenish coffers that have been drained in one of the year's most expensive races.

Fetterman is competing with Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Republican, for an open seat being vacated by Sen. Pat Toomey, also a Republican. If Fetterman wins, Democrats will have a much better shot at maintaining control of the Senate.

Biden was born in Pennsylvania, and the state remains central to his political identity.

His trip on Thursday will be his 14th to the state since taking office. A 15th trip has already been scheduled for next week, when he's expected to return to Philadelphia for another political event.

When President Biden arrives in Pittsburgh, there could be traffic impacts on local roadways.

Biden is expected to depart the city around 4:30 p.m.

President Biden will be in Pittsburgh on Thursday. 

He's expected to arrive and speak at the Fern Hollow Bridge, nearly nine months after he visited the site the day the bridge collapsed.

The White House says Biden will speak about how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is helping to rebuild America's bridges and other infrastructure.