Editorial: Pennsylvania bridges need regular attention
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Bridges are being taken seriously right now.
The collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge in Frick Park in Pittsburgh on Jan. 28 was one of those bellwether moments — the clanging bell that alerts everyone about impending danger. Of course, the bell clanged a little late for the people on the bridge when it fell into the ravine below, but better late than never.
It is the same kind of response that people had after the Interstate 35 bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed in 2007. There is shock that this bridge was poorly rated. There is belated attention to the other bridges in similar conditions. There are vows to make sure other bridges are fixed before similar collapses occur.
Yeah, right.
The people responsible for all of this infrastructure — whether the municipalities or counties or state or even the federal government — need to do more than release statements and say the right things in the moment.
Right now, a week out from the failure, we expect the shock and attention and statements and speeches. There is definitely work that can be seen in progress as an articulated bus is pulled out of a gorge with an impossibly large crane and a very public photo opportunity. The business of removing tons of bridge remains will be conducted in the public eye — although perhaps not quite as public now that the observation area has been closed indefinitely.
But while we want answers now and we need to know that work is being done now, what is more important is iron-clad assurance that more will be done a year from now or two years or five or more when there isn’t a bus in a ravine.
The squeaky wheel always gets the grease, which is why bridges are getting the headlines now. However, when a bridge starts squeaking, it isn’t something that can wait. Bridges, like dams and other engineering feats, cannot be neglected until something goes wrong. They have to be maintained regularly and proactively, and the problem with that is it’s boring. It’s not the kind of sexy, high-profile thing that gets speeches and pictures and therefore money and votes.
According to PennDOT, 26% of the state’s bridges are rated the same as the Fern Hollow Bridge: poor. That is not a Frick Park problem or a Pittsburgh problem or an Allegheny County problem. It is a Pennsylvania problem, and Pennsylvanians have to demand that infrastructure like bridges be given that regular, proactive, attentive maintenance even when they aren’t falling down like a children’s nursery rhyme.