John, we need to talk about the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse in Pittsburgh yesterday.
Early Friday morning (just before 7 AM rush hour) the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed, sending a Port Authority bus and several other cars tumbling into Frick Park.
Here’s what I saw when I arrived 👇
It was *truly* surreal to see a bridge I’ve driven across thousands of times — including the very day before the collapse — crumbled and detached on both ends.
We soon learned from first responders that while 10 people were injured and four were rushed to the hospital, nobody was killed or critically harmed. I’m so grateful to the amazing folks at Pittsburgh Public Safety for their quick responses, and wish those injured a speedy recovery. 🙏
People across Pennsylvania — and across our entire country — have been saying it for years: Our infrastructure is failing us.
Pittsburgh is *the* city of bridges, John. We have 446, more than any other city in the WORLD, including Venice, Italy! We rely on these bridges to connect us and bring us together. We drive across them every day.
Yet, incredibly, more than 10% of bridges in Allegheny County are rated in “poor” condition. Drive around Pittsburgh for an hour and you’ll see for yourself — broken, closed-off bridges around every corner.
Look, I don’t want these bridges fixed as a Democrat, independent, or Republican. I just want these bridges fixed as a dude who drives his kids over it almost every day. And frankly, I don’t know how anyone can look at today’s disaster and think we can afford to wait any longer on investing in our infrastructure.
Someone who agrees with me on that is President Joe Biden. I know because he joined me on the scene.
This is what wearing shorts 365 days a year looks like.
Ironically, President Biden was in Pennsylvania on Friday to talk about the importance of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill (BIF), the landmark infrastructure bill he signed into law in 2021.
Yesterday’s disaster is a wake-up call: We can’t waste any time making use of President Biden’s legislation to rebuild our nation’s roads + bridges.
Too often, DC politics can feel like insider baseball, leaving people wondering how abstract legislation can actually help them. But here, the answer is clear. President Biden’s infrastructure package means $1.6 billion for Pennsylvania to repair bridges like the Fern Hollow Bridge.
And that’s not all. We need legislation that directly improves the lives of working families. We need leaders in DC who care about keeping us safe + healthy. We need a government that fights for us.
This disaster drives home everything that we’re fighting for in this race. I’ve never been more ready to get to work for you in Washington.
In gratitude,
John
John Fetterman
Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
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