President Biden returns to Fern Hollow Bridge to talk infrastructure
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - President Joe Biden was in Pittsburgh on Thursday to take a victory lap for the bipartisan infrastructure law.
The visit to Pittsburgh comes at a crucial time in his presidency. The midterms are around the corner and Pennsylvania is once again a battleground state.
The president used the Fern Hollow Bridge as a focal point. According to him, without the law, the bridge would not be at the point where it is now.
The last time Biden saw the bridge in person, it was in pieces. He promised it would be rebuilt.
"Pittsburgh is the city of bridges, but too many are in poor condition like the one behind me before it collapsed," Biden said from the bridge site on Thursday.
Now almost nine months later, he returned to see the progress made. With the help of $25 million in federal funding, it is on pace to open before the end of the year.
"By Christmas, God-willing, we'll be walking -- I'm coming back to walk over this sucker," Biden said.
It's just part of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill signed earlier this year. Much of the president's 15-minute speech was a victory lap for getting it into law. Biden said it will make sure America has some of the best infrastructure in the world.
"When you see these projects in your neighborhoods, cranes going up, shovels in the ground, I want you to feel the way I do: pride," Biden said before many local Democrats and other supporters.
The bill goes beyond roads and bridges. It calls for high speed internet and lead line replacement and lays the groundwork for electric cars.
"And that's just what we need because half the new car sales in America are going to be electric by the end of this decade," the president said.
Here in our area, Biden talked about how $850 million is going to the Montgomery Lock and Dam in Monaca. The president hopes it will allow for more cargo to flow down the Ohio River, cutting down the number of trucks moving those goods.
"Cutting pollution in the air we breathe -- this is good for the economy, the environment and public health," Biden said.
With the Fern Hollow Bridge, PennDOT said they need to pour more concrete. The guard rails they were concerned about are expected to be here next month.
