I heard people commenting on Tuesday as to how impressive of an engineering feat it was to lift that big bus out of the debris of the collapsed Fern Hollow Bridge. Yes, it was impressive and neat and unique - unless you count the time someone lifted one of our other buses out of a sinkhole. However, you know what would have been more impressive? KEEPING OUR BRIDGE UP!
Sure a bridge that does not fall down does not get much media coverage. It does not make for good photo ops. But, a standing bridge also does not crush the vertebrae of the people using it. And, keeping a bridge standing in its intended real estate also does not allow for folks with a ‘D’ or an ‘R’ after their name from calling for tax increases to rebuild and repair.
Earlier this week on the KDKA Radio Morning Show, we discussed the docile nature of Pittsburghers in light of this disaster. No one seems upset or angry. No one seemed to get mad. Most of the residents of the entire region have taken the calamity in stride. We are resilient, yes. We understand that sometimes bad things happen and we can adjust and overcome. No problem. We are understanding. But, why aren’t we pissed off, as well?
After all, we can be grateful that no one was killed. We can be appreciative of the amazing emergency response. We can be understanding of the delays that we will endure for the next 2 years. We can be flexible with our time as we navigate the detours. We can be relieved that other rotting structures do not collapse beneath us as we cross. But, why are we not angry? Why are we not furious that our bridges have not been properly maintained or repaired in a timely manner following a ‘poor’ inspection? The bridge that now sits in rubble in a Frick Park creek has been rated as POOR since 2011. It is 2022! Conditions under its deck were so bad that wire cables held it together because the X-beam had rotted away. Yet, still we crossed.
Pennsylvanians pay the third highest gas tax in the nation. According to the Commonwealth, The Motor License Fund, which ‘includes the commonly known gas and diesel taxes, as well as other license, fine and fee revenues – totaled $1.4 billion, which is $61.3 million, or 4.5 percent, above estimate’ for the first 6 months of the fiscal year-to-date (July 1-Dec. 31). In return we should be awarded the reasonable expectation that we will drive on safe roadways. Someone has to pay the price of this disaster and it better not be taxpayers. Pittsburghers and Pennsylvanians should be furious. That bridge does not represent a structure falling down. It represents systemic mismanagement. Experts say that a similar bridge should last 70-80 years with proper maintenance. So, why does one fall down after only 49?
What are we doing? We all use our bridges. We all use our roads. Yet, we sit back and let Harrisburg or city hall talk about putting more toll booths up and increasing fees to cover future costs when they should be spending the money that we already give them properly. Obviously, they are not. I am not singling out any one particular politician or any one particular administration because it looks like from one governor to another….from one commissioner, councilmember, or mayor to the next and everyone in between, it has been a problem. Money seems to always get diverted for a pet project here or a campaign promise there or some well-intended but misguided theory everywhere else.
You hear and believe the excuses that allow for the diversion of funds: ‘Ahhh, It will be alright….Ahhh, it’s not a big deal…Ahh, we’ll take care of it next year….Ahh, y’know, its not going to happen….Ahh, don’t worry that bridge isn’t known to be compromised.’ Well, it happened. And you should be pissed off. Maybe we ignored a 2019 report by former PA Auditor General Eugene DePasquale.
According to the US Department of Transportation, Pennsylvania received $1.77 billion in federal funds for transportation needs in 2019 alone. The infrastructure legislation that President Biden was in town promoting on the very day our bridge fell is supposed to bring $1.63 billion in federal taxpayer money to Pennsylvania, according to the Post-Gazette. There are 3,352 bridges in Pennsylvania that are rated in POOR condition. It was 3,353 until last Friday morning, PublicSource reports. that 175 of them are in Allegheny County and 29…er, 28 are in the city of Pittsburgh.
We have a lot of infrastructure to care for. Thousands of bridges and hundreds of thousands of miles of roads. Penndot notes that is does not have enough money to keep up with all the projects. It predicts a funding gap of $14 billion by 2030. Will some old, less-used roads and frail bridges simply be abandoned in the future? Talk about Harrisburg redrawing maps! Ugh. Pieces regularly fall off of some of our bridges. The most iconic image of this is the old Greenfield Bridge over the Parkway East under which a canopy was built to keep the debris from falling onto cars below. How safe are the bridges you drive over? Click here.
I’m not blaming the politician for the mismanagement. I’m blaming all of us who look in the mirror each morning. It is all of our faults that the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed. We allowed it. We know that our structures are rated poorly and we are docile enough to just keep crossing them without questioning. We ignore the reports. Maybe we all should start following our tax money. Maybe we should all start paying attention. Take an interest in something other than TikTok or football. Ask questions. And, maybe we should vote for actual results and not some far-flung promise.
We should demand more because we are owed more because we pay more. We must prioritize our spending. The Fern Hollow Bridge fell down and we should be furious.
Kevin Battle likes football. However, he prefers riding safely over a river instead of swimming out of it in order to get to a game. Battle is co-host of the KDKA Radio Morning Show with Larry Richert. It airs M-F 5a-9a on Pittsburgh’s 100.1FM & AM1020 KDKA or on the free Audacy app. Ask your smartspeaker to: ‘Play KDKA.’ Thank you.