Pittsburgh Bridge Collapses Hours Before Biden’s Visit

[Rick Plant]

President Biden's Infrastructure Law will transform Pennsylvania's infrastructure by investing money into roads, bridges, airports while providing residents with new good paying jobs. Every Pennsylvanian will now have access to high speed internet where there is currently no access in rural Pennsylvania. Lead pipes will be removed and residents will now be able to have clean drinking water without the danger of toxic chemicals. Republicans call this investment into America  "pork" because the money isn't going to billionaires and corporations in tax cut giveaways. The GOP would rather give huge tax cuts for billionaires who own private jets than fund the crumbling infrastructure all around American cities. A bridge just collapsed making this Infrastructure Law all the more important to get to work to fix these deficient bridges and roads. We can thank President Biden for making this all possible with his historic infrastructure bill to Build Back Better as Republicans voted against this Bill to put America First. Just another reason why the GOP will lose in a landslide in November. The GOP does nothing for the middle class and hard working Americans. They vote NO against Americans every single time.     


Wolf Administration Highlights Anticipated Funding Through Federal Infrastructure Plan
November 09, 2021

Governor Tom Wolf today shared an overview of enhancements Pennsylvania anticipates receiving through the passage of President Joe Biden’s bold, historic $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

“This comprehensive package will provide critical federal funding to Pennsylvania’s infrastructure, support economic growth throughout the commonwealth, and provide stable, good-paying jobs for Pennsylvanians,” said Gov. Wolf.

“Restoring the commonwealth’s infrastructure has been a priority throughout ​my administration and I am grateful for President Biden’s and our Democratic Congressional Delegation’s shared vision and leadership on this important issue.”

Based on historical formula funding, the White House anticipates Pennsylvania receiving the following infrastructure improvements with federal funding:

Repair and rebuild roads and bridges with a focus on climate change mitigation, resilience, equity, and safety for all users, including cyclists and pedestrians. Based on formula funding, Pennsylvania would expect to receive $11.3 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs and $1.6 billion for bridge replacement and repairs.

Improve health, sustainable transportation options. Through formula funding, Pennsylvania expects to receive $2.8 billion over five years to improve public transportation options across the commonwealth.

Build a network of electronic vehicle (EV) chargers to facilitate long-distance travel and provide convenient charging options. Pennsylvania expects to receive $171 million over five years to support the expansion of an EV charging network across the commonwealth.

Help connect every Pennsylvanian to reliable high-speed internet. Pennsylvania will receive a minimum allocation of $100 million to help provide broadband coverage across the commonwealth, including providing access to the at least 394,000 Pennsylvanians who currently lack coverage. Additionally, 23 percent of Pennsylvanians will be eligible for the Affordability Connectivity Benefit, which will help low-income families afford internet access.

Prepare more of our infrastructure for the impacts of climate change, cyber-attacks, and extreme weather events. Based on historical formula funding levels, Pennsylvanian will expect to receive $49 million over five years to protect against wildfires and $26 million to protect against cyber-attacks. Pennsylvanians will also benefit from the bill’s historic $3.5 billion national investment in weatherization which will reduce energy costs for families.

Deliver clean drinking water to Pennsylvanians. Based on the traditional state revolving fund formula, Pennsylvania will expect to receive $1.4 billion over five years to improve water infrastructure and ensure clean, safe drinking water throughout the commonwealth.

Improve commonwealth airports. Pennsylvania’s airports expect to receive $355 million for infrastructure improvements over the next five years.

“These critical investments, along with state-level solutions, will help close Pennsylvania’s growing transportation funding gap, connect Pennsylvanians to opportunities and each other, and move our commonwealth forward,” said. Gov. Wolf. “I look forward to the benefits this historic investment will provide in modernizing our infrastructure for the future of Pennsylvania.”

https://www.governor.pa.gov/newsroom/wolf-administration-highlights-anticipated-funding-through-federal-infrastructure-plan/

[Richard Smith]

More words, more nonsense, more falsehoods. Richard never posts any documented sources or evidence for his false claims, just like his nonsense about the Infrastructure Bill being "pork" because it's all false right wing propaganda in order to smear President Biden. The desperation here is pathetic.           

Documented sources? LOL.  That's rich.  You mean do I spend countless hours cutting and pasting online propaganda from the Internet to a JFK assassination forum until I have filled it up with several hundred pages of nonsense?  No. 

[Rick Plant]

Thanks President Biden!

Pittsburgh snagged nearly 1/3 of infrastructure bill's funding for inland waterways

The Port of Pittsburgh has locked in an “unprecedented” amount of funding to overhaul a critical piece of the nation’s inland waterway system, U.S. Senator Bob Casey announced on Wednesday. The $857 million allocation for the Montgomery Locks and Dam, located near Monaca, Pa., represents nearly a third of all the money Congress set aside for inland waterways in its 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill.

“This is a big win,” Casey said. “It will allow us to move commerce throughout not just southwestern Pennsylvania but throughout the waterway system of the United States. It allows us to be competitive.”

Nearly 21 million tons of goods move through the Port of Pittsburgh each year, and if one of its locks and dams should go down, “the economy of a large segment of America would be adversely impacted,” Casey said.

The Montgomery Locks and Dam improvement is part of a larger effort called the Upper Ohio Navigation Project, which aims to overhaul three locks and dams on the Ohio River: Emsworth, Dashields, and Montgomery. The three facilities are the first on the Ohio River, which leads deep into the interior of the U.S., and then on to the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast. All three opened before 1936 and have the smallest capacity of any of the facilities along the Ohio River, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

As if to underscore the facility’s importance, traffic on the river came to a near-halt last month while Montgomery underwent significant repairs, said Mary Ann Bucci, executive director of the Port of Pittsburgh.

“The back-ups were up to 10 days,” she said. “These barges and tugboats were sitting for 10 days. And you know any transportation company is not making money when they’re not delivering freight.”

The facility is estimated to have a 50% chance of failure by 2028. “Now we don’t have to worry about that,” Bucci said.

Unlike efforts to fix other locks and dams in the region, the overhaul of Montgomery is entirely covered by the federal allocation. Bids to build two new 600-foot chambers can be put out all at once, so that the region won’t find itself in “year 28 of a 10-year project,” Bucci said, referring to the long-running effort to complete the Lower Mon project to replace the three oldest locks and dams on that river.

The investment is just the first of many in the nation’s infrastructure, and will generate family-sustaining jobs, said Darrin Kelly, president of the Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council. Kelly estimates the work on Montgomery alone could create 1,000 jobs.

“This is another artery that opens up for our great city,” he said. “Pittsburgh is one of the busiest landlocked ports in the world” and will hopefully soon be able to handle larger ships.

But while the repairs to the Montgomery Locks and Dam are fully funded, the money to complete the rest of the Upper Ohio Navigation project remains uncommitted.

Casey and Bucci said they will continue to work to find the funding.

https://www.wesa.fm/development-transportation/2022-01-19/unprecedented-funding-for-pittsburgh-locks-and-dams-hailed-as-a-win

[Richard Smith]

Thanks President Biden!

Pittsburgh snagged nearly 1/3 of infrastructure bill's funding for inland waterways

The Port of Pittsburgh has locked in an “unprecedented” amount of funding to overhaul a critical piece of the nation’s inland waterway system, U.S. Senator Bob Casey announced on Wednesday. The $857 million allocation for the Montgomery Locks and Dam, located near Monaca, Pa., represents nearly a third of all the money Congress set aside for inland waterways in its 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill.

“This is a big win,” Casey said. “It will allow us to move commerce throughout not just southwestern Pennsylvania but throughout the waterway system of the United States. It allows us to be competitive.”

Nearly 21 million tons of goods move through the Port of Pittsburgh each year, and if one of its locks and dams should go down, “the economy of a large segment of America would be adversely impacted,” Casey said.

It's too bad there will be no truckers to unload it and the goods will cost too much for anyone to buy due to record inflation or they will be stolen off the trains due to record crime.  Old Joe has already gone into hiding like Trudeau in Canada.  The chickens are coming home to roost for those that imposed the lockdowns.  Now confirmed by John Hopkins to have provided no benefit in slowing COVID deaths but resulting in enormous harm to society.

[Rick Plant]

Biden hypes infrastructure funding in wake of Pittsburgh bridge disaster
The president said the collapse underscored the importance of his $1.2 trillion infrastructure program and spoke on the importance of investments in American manufacturing.

Visiting the Steel City just hours after a bridge collapse, President Joe Biden held up the episode as an example of dilapidated national infrastructure whose repair his administration has already made a priority.

Ten people were injured when the Forbes Avenue bridge in Pittsburgh's Breezy Point neighborhood collapsed early Friday morning, ahead of Biden's scheduled appearance in the city.

The president said the bridge had been rated in poor condition for the past 10 years. Its ruin, he went on, underscores the need for Pittsburgh and cities throughout the country to receive federal funds to repair aging infrastructure. "What you all know, if you don't you should know, there are another 3,300 bridges here in Pennsylvania, some of which are just as old and just as decrepit condition is that one was, including here in Pittsburgh, the city of bridges," Biden said. 

Biden's $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill lays out $26.5 billion for bridges alone, a price tag the president said is the largest investment in bridges since President Dwight Eisenhower's construction of the interstate highway system.

"We're going to rebuild that bridge, along with thousands of other bridges in Pennsylvania and across the country, because it's in our interest for our own safety's sake and it generates commerce in a way that we can't do now," Biden said.

The president emphasized that, in addition to improving community resources, the infrastructure legislation will also create local union jobs. The White House has estimated the plan will add approximately 2 million jobs every year for the next 10 years.

"We always do better when ordinary hardworking people have a shot," Biden said. "The middle class built this country and unions built the middle class."

In what was the first indication of the president's messaging headed into the midterm elections and his promise to spend more time outside of Washington during his second year in office, Biden placed a heavy emphasis on the American economy.

The U.S. economy grew 5.7% this year, the quickest growth since the Reagan administration, and Biden finished his first year in office with a quarter of economic growth that outpaced many economists' estimates.

"Every action I've taken to rebuild the economy has been guided by one principle: Make it in America, like we used to. No one knows that better than all the folks in Pittsburgh. And that's why it matters so much," Biden said.

"To build a truly strong economy we need a future that's made in America," the president added.

Biden urged Congress to reach a consensus on the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, a measure that has been described as a "competitiveness bill" that would invest $90 billion in research and manufacturing and expand semiconductor production in the U.S.

"Other countries are catching up fast, but we can and we must change that trajectory. We have an opportunity ahead of us right now," Biden said, referencing manufacturing and innovation growth in China.

The USICA legislation passed the Senate with support from both parties but is stalling in the House where lawmakers are expected to introduce their own version of the bill soon.

"My expectation is this continue to be a bipartisan effort God willing, just like the infrastructure," Biden said.

While taking care not to directly address the recent goings-on in D.C., making no mention of the filibuster or voting rights, the president continued to reference the Build Back Better Act, legislation that, among other things, aimed to reduce the cost of child care and place limits on insulin and prescription drug prices. The bill is stalled in the Senate and unlikely to pass in its entirety.

"Imagine being a parent making the minimum wage or twice the minimum wage, having a child with Type 1 diabetes, knowing that, if you have no insurance, knowing that if you cannot get that money for this, that child might die," Biden said.

The president became increasingly passionate as he described the stakes of the policy battle.

"In addition to your child, it strips you of your dignity, dammit. Can you imagine looking at your child, knowing what they need and not be able to do it?" the president asked, looking up as though clearly focused on the image he conjured up in this hypothetical.

Rounding out his speech on a hopeful note, the president described this moment in American politics as one defined by choices that depend on bipartisanship.

"Here's the bottom line: The United States is in a position to out compete the rest of the world once again. We're at a real inflection point. Technology, society is changing and we've always been ahead of the curve. We have an incredible opportunity ahead of us. We still face tremendous challenges. If we can keep coming together and invest in the backbone of this country, there's no limit to what we can achieve."

https://www.courthousenews.com/biden-hypes-infrastructure-funding-in-wake-of-pittsburgh-bridge-disaster/

[Richard Smith]

Rick's breathless coverage of Biden's visit to Pittsburgh somehow omitted the following story from the leftist CNN.  So for the sake of completeness here goes:

Joe Biden is going to Pennsylvania today. Top Democrats are avoiding him.

(CNN)President Joe Biden's planned visit to Pennsylvania on Friday tells you everything you need to know about his current dismal political standing.

Biden is set to be in Pittsburgh for an event designed to promote the infrastructure package passed into law last year. (Biden is still going forward with the trip following a bridge collapse in the city Friday morning.) When he stops by the Steel City, two of the state's top Democrats won't be there.
Both Pennsylvania Lt. Gov, John Fetterman and Attorney General Josh Shapiro are not slated to appear with Biden, citing scheduling conflicts.

The truth is that if Biden was at 60% approval -- either nationally or in Pennsylvania -- those scheduling conflicts would likely resolve themselves and Fetterman and Shapiro would be in Pittsburgh to bask in Biden's reflected glow. That he is some 15-20 points below that mark guarantees that candidates on the ballot in 2022 are comfortable ghosting him.

[Rick Plant]

Rick's breathless coverage of Biden's visit to Pittsburgh somehow omitted the following story from the leftist CNN.  So for the sake of completeness here goes:

Joe Biden is going to Pennsylvania today. Top Democrats are avoiding him.

(CNN)President Joe Biden's planned visit to Pennsylvania on Friday tells you everything you need to know about his current dismal political standing.

Biden is set to be in Pittsburgh for an event designed to promote the infrastructure package passed into law last year. (Biden is still going forward with the trip following a bridge collapse in the city Friday morning.) When he stops by the Steel City, two of the state's top Democrats won't be there.
Both Pennsylvania Lt. Gov, John Fetterman and Attorney General Josh Shapiro are not slated to appear with Biden, citing scheduling conflicts.

The truth is that if Biden was at 60% approval -- either nationally or in Pennsylvania -- those scheduling conflicts would likely resolve themselves and Fetterman and Shapiro would be in Pittsburgh to bask in Biden's reflected glow. That he is some 15-20 points below that mark guarantees that candidates on the ballot in 2022 are comfortable ghosting him.

 

Several elected officials took the podium before Mr. Biden, with Gov. Tom Wolf saying the bridge collapse “was a real tragedy” due to the injuries inflicted and the damage to a major thoroughfare, and he assured that the commonwealth is working to fix it. He emphasized that it could have been prevented with investment in infrastructure.

“It made me feel proud that the president of the United States had our back,” Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said, referring to Mr. Biden’s detour to visit the site of the bridge collapse.

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-local/2022/01/28/President-Biden-will-make-second-visit-of-his-presidency-to-Pittsburgh-today/stories/202201280059

[Rick Plant]

Rick's breathless coverage of Biden's visit to Pittsburgh somehow omitted the following story from the leftist CNN.  So for the sake of completeness here goes:

Joe Biden is going to Pennsylvania today. Top Democrats are avoiding him.

(CNN)President Joe Biden's planned visit to Pennsylvania on Friday tells you everything you need to know about his current dismal political standing.

Biden is set to be in Pittsburgh for an event designed to promote the infrastructure package passed into law last year. (Biden is still going forward with the trip following a bridge collapse in the city Friday morning.) When he stops by the
Steel City, two of the state's top Democrats won't be there.

Both Pennsylvania Lt. Gov, John Fetterman and Attorney General Josh Shapiro are not slated to appear with Biden, citing scheduling conflicts.

The truth is that if Biden was at 60% approval -- either nationally or in Pennsylvania -- those scheduling conflicts would likely resolve themselves and Fetterman and Shapiro would be in Pittsburgh to bask in Biden's reflected glow. That he is some 15-20 points below that mark guarantees that candidates on the ballot in 2022 are comfortable ghosting him.

Once again, this is more false disinformation. Democratic leaders joined and welcomed the President in Pittsburgh. There are photos and videos which you can see below. CNN is not "leftist", it is owned by right wing AT&T and is pushing dishonest anti Biden propaganda from hacks like Chris Cillizza who wrote this garbage and has zero credibility.   

At Site Of Pittsburgh Bridge Collapse, President Joe Biden Promises To ‘Fix Them All’

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Looking across the snow-covered chasm where the Fern Hollow Bridge once stood in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood, President Joe Biden touted the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law.

Air Force One touched down shortly before 1 p.m. for Biden’s previously scheduled visit, which was thrown off course after the bridge in Frick Park collapsed hours earlier.



Biden arrived at the site of the collapse around 1:15, led by a Pittsburgh and state police motorcade. He was joined by leaders — including Sen. Bob Casey, Gov. Tom Wolf, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Congressman Conor Lamb and Mayor Ed Gainey — as he walked to the edge of the chasm.

“I’ve been coming to Pittsburgh a long time, and as a former Pennsylvanian. But I didn’t realize there were more bridges in Pittsburgh than any other city in the world,” Biden said as he stood at the edge, promising to “fix them all.”

Fitzgerald told Biden it was Gainey’s first month on the job, and Biden called the collapse a “christening.” He also talked to first responders about what they saw when they got to the scene.

The president was previously scheduled to visit Mill 19 in Hazelwood to promote the infrastructure law. Hours before the president left for Pittsburgh, the Fern Hollow Bridge on Forbes Avenue over Frick Park collapsed into a ravine, stranding vehicles and injuring 10 people, sending four to the hospital.

The speakers began shortly after 3 p.m. Wolf, Gainey, Fitzgerald and Casey spoke before the president, highlighting the infrastructure bill needed not just to repair bridges like the Fern Hollow bridge, but to also create jobs.

Biden highlighted the infrastructure law’s $1.6 billion for Pennsylvania’s bridges over the next five years, saying the money will fund repairs on the collapsed bridge, which affects a major thoroughfare for residents.

“Next time, we don’t need headlines saying someone was killed in a bridge collapse,” Biden said when he took the podium. He vowed to rebuild the bridge and thousands of others across the country.

Biden also talked about revitalizing manufacturing, creating union jobs and strengthening the nation’s supply chains, lauding job growth. He said there’s been a rise in manufacturing jobs, some of which include investments by companies to start building more electric cards.

He also pushed for his Build Back Better plan during his remarks.

“All of these investments in American research, development and infrastructure are really about one thing: empowering more cities and more towns to do what you’re doing right here in Pittsburgh, transforming yourself from being told you’re a city without a future to becoming a city of the future,” he said.

He also praised Pittsburgh leaders, saying in 15 years, Pittsburgh is “going to lead the world again.”

“It’s not hyperbole. It’s a fact,” he said, pointing to how Pittsburgh has transformed itself from a city of steel manufacturing to a technology hub.

He pivoted to other infrastructure like the $857 million investment in the Montgomery Lock and Dam, which he says moves tons of goods up and down our rivers. He said we must maintain our infrastructure in order to move these goods.

“What you all know, if you don’t you should know, there are another 3,300 bridges here in Pennsylvania, some of which are just as old and just as decrepit condition as that bridge was, including here in Pittsburgh, the city of bridges,” President Biden said.

Despite $1.6 billion for Pennsylvania’s bridges, that comes down to only about $500k per bridge.

Information from PennDOT’s site on bridge conditions listed the bridge as in an overall poor condition. The deck and superstructure were also given a poor rating while the substructure condition was satisfactory. PennDOT said while the city owns the bridge, it is still “actively engaged” in the response.

Fitzgerald called the bridge a “major artery.” Many residents say they travel on it every day and say they’ve heard clanks but never thought a situation of this magnitude could happen.

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2022/01/28/president-joe-biden-visit-pittsburgh-bridge-collapse-frick-park/


WATCH LIVE: Biden speaks in Pittsburgh to promote infrastructure law, strengthening supply chain