Fern Hollow Bridge collapse: Two years later, questions still remain
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Two years ago today, all eyes turned to Pittsburgh when the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed into a ravine in Frick Park.
The bridge fell more than 100 feet below and sent several vehicles, including a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus, into the park below.
In the time since the bridge has been rebuilt and reopened.
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Since that fateful day in 2022, we've learned more about what led to the collapse of the bridge - most recently, thousands of documents released from the National Transportation Board's investigation revealing a failure by multiple institutions to maintain bridges along with a lack of action and a lack of allocating the necessary resources to maintain them.
It was January 28, 2022, when the bridge collapsed, injuring ten people, some of them seriously.
Earlier this month, a judge ordered the engineering firm CDM Smith Incorporated to provide all documents related to the bridge, despite the fact they resisted doing so.
In researching those documents, KDKA Investigates spotted a pattern of short-sightedness.
An interview with the engineer who oversaw inspections said he only got two, six-hour periods to check over the 447-foot-long bridge and did not get time to conduct an in-depth inspection.
The NTSB report found a lack of maintenance on the bridge, which included not removing the debris that gathered and that didn't allow the steel to dry out and ultimately led to corrosion and deterioration.
The lead inspector told the city that multiple times.
The Department of Mobility and Infrastructure also didn't ask the city's contractor to clean the expansion joints or stormwater drainage system for nearly three years leading up to the collapse.
The NTSB also pressed the city for its maintenance schedule but learned the city did not have one for the bridge.
You can find more on our coverage of the bridge collapse right here.
