Editorial: Fern Hollow Bridge collapse was human fault, not an act of God
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An act of God might sound biblical, but it has a legal definition. When it comes to contracts and liability, an act of God is the kind of calamitous natural event that is unpredictable and unavoidable. It’s something that is outside of human control.
And it is not what happened to the Fern Hollow Bridge in Frick Park.
On Wednesday, the National Transportation Safety Board accepted investigators’ findings into the January 2022 collapse of the Pittsburgh bridge.
“This bridge did not collapse by an act of God. It collapsed because of a lack of maintenance and repair. It is just sad for the city,” board member Michael Graham said.
It is sad. It also is frustrating, scary and infuriating.
There is nowhere in America that should be more aware of its bridges than Pittsburgh. The city is a maze of bridges — those over its surrounding rivers and those that cross roads and valleys such as Fern Hollow. Just as Florida should understand hurricanes and San Francisco should be an expert on earthquakes, Pittsburgh should know bridges.
But the report made it clear the city failed to understand the critical importance of maintenance. It was not just pushing off a recommendation for a few months or a year. It was a pattern of ignored responsibility for more than 15 years.
The problems identified were a series of falling dominoes. Drains clogged and weren’t cleared. That meant they overflowed. The water cascaded over the weathering steel. Because the steel stayed so wet so often, it didn’t develop the kind of patina the U.S. Steel building has — the one that protects the metal from the elements. The bridge’s legs became thin. Cross bracing wasn’t replaced. There were no coatings to prevent rust.
Each of these failures is an indictment of the city’s attention to the safety of its infrastructure — spans that carry thousands of vehicles every day and put lives and livelihoods at catastrophic risk.
While these failures can be laid at the feet of previous leaders, they provide the blueprint for what must be demanded moving forward.
Today, we have detailed assessments of the bridges that are most at risk, but we also know it is just as important — and cheaper and less dangerous — to provide the regular maintenance that prevents that risk. We also know the present administration is aware of the problems and must be responsible for future transparency and action.
Fern Hollow Bridge didn’t fall to a lightning bolt from a clear blue sky. It was predictable. It was preventable. And it was because of human inaction, not an act of God.