Governor Tom Wolf participated in a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh, which is expected to reopen to traffic by the end of December.
The Fern Hollow Bridge, which is owned by the City of Pittsburgh and carries Forbes Avenue over Frick Park, Fern Hollow Creek and Tranquil Trail, collapsed on the morning of Jan. 28.
“I was here on January 28 to survey the damage from the collapse, and today, less than a year later, I stand before a bridge that is nearly ready to reopen to traffic,” said Wolf. “This is the power of government working for the people in Pennsylvania. I’m thankful to all of our partners in state, local and federal government for your partnership and coordination to rebuild the Fern Hollow Bridge in less than a year. It’s an honor to be here to celebrate this incredible milestone for Pittsburgh.”
Immediately following the collapse, Wolf and Mayor Gainey issued Declaration of Disaster Emergency Proclamations, which allowed the City of Pittsburgh to enter into a legal agreement to allow the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to manage the design and construction of the new Fern Hollow Bridge. The proclamations also provided the Federal Highway Administration and PennDOT the approval to immediately contract with Swank Construction Company and HDR Inc. for the removal of the collapsed structure, and the design and construction of the new Fern Hollow Bridge.
Thanks to collaboration with the City of Pittsburgh and PennDOT’s innovative approach to the standard design process, multiple design phases occurred simultaneously including foundation, substructure, superstructure, utility relocation, environmental and aesthetic aspects of the project, which allowed project delivery to be expedited by multiple years. The bridge is expected to open to traffic by the end of December 2022 – less than a year after the collapse.
Gov. Wolf was joined at the ribbon cutting ceremony by PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian, US Department of Transportation Director of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Implementation Katie Thomson, Mayor Ed Gainey, County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Senator Jay Costa, Representative Dan Frankel and PennDOT District 11 Executive Cheryl Moon-Sirianni.
“This new bridge is the result of incredible collaboration,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. “And thanks to the federal investment through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we were able to quickly mobilize to rebuilt this bridge without impacting funds for other important projects.”
“The U.S. Department of Transportation is proud to support the City of Pittsburgh, PennDOT and other project partners who collaborated so effectively to rebuild the Fern Hollow Bridge,” said USDOT Director of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Implementation Katie Thomson. “This spirit of teamwork meant decisions could be made quickly and this vital link for all transportation modes was able to be restored in record time. This remarkable achievement speaks to the professionalism of all involved and dedication to serving the traveling public.”
“This is a historic day for Pittsburgh,” said Mayor Ed Gainey. “The rebuilding of Fern Hollow bridge in less than one year shows what we can accomplish when we work together. Thank you to President Biden, Governor Wolf, PennDOT, and everyone who made this day possible.”
“Today’s event underscores the importance of working together collaboratively to address the biggest issues in our community,” said Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. “From the first response, to the efforts to secure federal infrastructure funding, to the work done by Governor Wolf, Secretary Gramian and PennDOT with the City of Pittsburgh, this project has been a model of what can be accomplished when everyone contributes to finding solutions and taking action. Less than a year after the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge, we mark its forthcoming opening. Congratulations to everyone involved in the effort and thank you to President Biden and all of our partners on the federal level for their work to get the federal infrastructure bill passed.”
“It’s so important that every Pennsylvanian gets where they are going safely,” said Sen. Jay Costa. “From work to school to errands to spending time with friends, we all deserve the infrastructure necessary to travel and return home safe and sound. I’m so glad that we have pulled the resources together to repair the Fern Hollow Bridge. Rebuilding this bridge has reunited two communities and will soon allow for the safe passage of over 21,000 cars and buses per day. At the end of the day, this was an all hands on deck effort, and I look forward to continuing the critical work of delivering sound roads and bridges across Allegheny County and Pennsylvania.”
“Getting our bridge rebuilt in under a year was an enormous lift, so I am deeply grateful that the Wolf administration understood that that our emergency response, our families and our small businesses were all relying on their state government to make it happen,” Rep. Dan Frankel said. “This is a very expensive and disruptive lesson to state and federal legislators that we must invest in our infrastructure.”
Substructure, superstructure, and concrete deck placement work has been completed. Bridge deck overlay and wingwall work will occur through the spring of 2023. Bridge barrier installation, pedestrian railing, and line painting are anticipated to be finished by late December to allow the bridge to open to a single-lane of bi-directional traffic while work continues into early 2023.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), signed by President Biden in November 2021, allowed PennDOT to quickly dedicate $25.3 million in federal funds to the project without impacting other critical regional needs.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will bring $4 billion in new highway and bridge funds to Pennsylvania over the next five years, nearly $600 million in this federal fiscal year alone. These new funds have allowed many important transportation projects to advance across Pennsylvania.
Categories: Pennsylvania, General