So what happened to the Fern Hollow Bridge?

While most people might not necessarily know the name of the bridge that transported traffic through Frick Park, it gained national attention when it broke apart Friday and plummeted into the ravine below. The timing of the collapse, just hours before a Pittsburgh visit by President Biden to discuss infrastructure, was almost prophetic.

But now that the people have been rescued and the speeches made and the reactions emailed, it’s time to focus on how the bridge got to the point of falling down.

The National Transportation Safety Board will be doing the mechanical and forensic part of that discussion — approaching the collapse the same way it does a plane crash or train derailment. Investigators will reassemble the pieces, check the paperwork and arrive at a cause. That could take about two years.

That does not mean it should take two years to learn lessons from what happened. Not for Pittsburgh and not for the state and every other city and county in Pennsylvania that owns a bridge or dam or other structure that has a high risk but an absolutely critical function.

Fern Hollow Bridge was in Pittsburgh, but the lessons belong to everyone.

First, we have to acknowledge the utter dumb luck of when the collapse occurred.

While the irony of the presidential visit gets the attention, what should is that it occurred on a weekday morning when school buses, parents on their way to day care, etc., could have been crossing, upping the number of cars on the bridge at the time. That didn’t happen because many schools were operating on a delay because of poor weather. Imagine that collapse with two buses instead of one, and the second is a school bus full of kids.

Second, there is the relatively minor number of injuries — 10 in all. Catastrophes often are measured in body count. Just because this collapse didn’t have one doesn’t mean it wasn’t a big deal.

Third, we don’t need to wait two years to know that bridges have been neglected statewide. There is more than enough data to support this.

The Federal Highway Administration’s bridge inspection information puts Pennsylvania at the second worst in the nation for the number of bridges in poor condition with 3,198. Illinois is third, but with 2,405 bridges earning that designation, Pennsylvania seems poised to keep its silver medal. It’s cold comfort that Iowa’s 4,504 poor bridges will keep it solidly in first place.

The question that needs to be asked is less how did this one bridge fall than it is how have so many been allowed to fall into this category.

Pennsylvania is a state crisscrossed with a network of waterways, mountains, train tracks and roadways. It also is a vital hub in the nation’s economy and transportation webs. Between the turnpike and Interstate 80, it’s hard to cross the country without passing its borders.

Bridges make that possible. Pennsylvania’s nickname — the Keystone State — speaks to that importance. It was the centerpiece that held the nation together, just like the keystone in a bridge’s arch.

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