Ministère de l’Enseignement

Supérieur et la Recherche
Scientifique

UNIVERSITE Saad DAHLAB - BLIDA 1

Faculté de Technologie

Filière : GINIE CIVIL

Spécialité : Matériaux

Thème :

The Fern Hollow Bridge Collapse

Présentée par :

Zidour Abdelghefar

Année 2022/2023

1
The Fern Hollow Bridge Collapse

On
January 28, 2022, at 6:39 a.m. EST, the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed.  Nearby
[1][23]

residents reported hearing a loud boom and a whooshing noise around 6:35–6:40
a.m. Many credited the early morning time of collapse for the lack of fatalities, as the
bridge was a route for many school buses, PAT buses, and commuters to work.
[24]
 Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire Chief Darryl Jones said it was very fortunate the
collapse occurred before the morning rush hour. [25] The bridge was covered with a
blanket of snow from an overnight storm that had passed through the area. [26]
Five vehicles were on the bridge when it collapsed, including a Port
Authority articulated bus built by New Flyer in 2013. Another passenger vehicle drove
off the eastern bridge abutment after the collapse and came to rest on its roof. [14] At
least 10 people were injured; three were taken to hospitals by ambulances. None of
the injuries appeared to be life threatening. [23] Some first responders rappelled about
150 ft (46 m) into the ravine, while others formed a human chain to rescue victims.
[1]
 According to a law enforcement official, a passing jogger helped to rescue some of
the motorists.[27] The count of ten injured included some first responders who slipped
and fell during the rescue operation.[28] The initial rescue effort was completed by
8:30 a.m. EST while emergency personnel continued to check under the wreckage
for any trapped victims;[1] none were found.[25] A crane erected at Forbes and Briarcliff
was used to retrieve the wrecked vehicles, and the bus (22 tons) was lifted from the
site on January 31.[29][30]
Under the road deck, the bridge carried a 16 inch (41 cm) natural gas pipeline,
[17]
 which severed in the collapse. Local residents were evacuated from their homes in
response to reports of a "massive leak" and strong scent of natural gas. [31] Officials
shut down the gas lines in the area within a half-hour of the collapse. [26]
The bus, PAT fleet number 3309,[32] was operating route 61B outbound from
downtown Pittsburgh (eastbound), and had nearly reached the east end before the

2
bridge began to collapse.[17] Driver Daryl Luciani later reported "the bus was bouncing
and shaking" during the event.[33] After the collapse, first responders placed a ladder
by the bus door, which Luciani and the two passengers aboard used to descend to
the floor of the valley before walking up to Forbes. [34]
Political response
President Joe Biden had been scheduled to visit Pittsburgh on January 28 to speak
about infrastructure at Carnegie Mellon University's Mill 19.[1][26][35] After learning about
the collapse, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed via Twitter that Biden
would continue with his planned speech to promote the Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act.[36] Biden visited the collapsed bridge at approximately 1:30 p.m., before his
scheduled speech,[27] and told reporters that he intended to direct funding to repair all
43,000 bridges in the U.S.[2][27]
Biden was accompanied by multiple Pennsylvania politicians, including Mayor Ed
Gainey, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Governor Tom Wolf, Lieutenant
Governor John Fetterman, U.S. Senator Bob Casey Jr., U.S. Representatives Conor
Lamb and Mike Doyle, State Senator Jay Costa, and State Representative Dan
Frankel.[17] Wolf declared a state of disaster on January 28.[37]
Investigation

NTSB investigators under the collapsed bridge (Jan 28, 2022)

Shortly after the collapse, the National Transportation Safety Board announced it was

sending a team led by Chair Jennifer Homendy to investigate the cause.[31]
[38]
 According to Homendy, the investigation will take 12 to 18 months to complete;
the team began gathering evidence after their arrival on January 28. [17] In a January
29 press conference held after the first complete day on-site, Homendy stated a
preliminary report would be available in approximately 10 days, but the final report
would require "a long, technical investigation" reviewing bridge inspection reports and
maintenance records, video (from local businesses and the PAT bus), traffic counts,
weight requirements, and road treatments.[39]
The preliminary report was released on February 7. [14] The collapse apparently
initiated at the west end of the structure.[14] Surveillance video recovered from the bus
showed the bridge had already fallen off the western abutment when the eastern
expansion joint began to separate.[40] No primary fractures were found in the critical
areas of the welded steel girders.[14] PennDOT ordered reviews of structural
adequacy for five bridges with similar rigid K frame designs immediately; the five

3
bridges (Canon-McMillan Alumni Bridge in North Strabane, Shenango Road Bridge
in Beaver, Philip J. Fahy Memorial Bridge in Bethlehem, McCallum Street Bridge
in Philadelphia, and Murray Avenue Bridge over Beechwood Blvd in Pittsburgh) were
found to be in "fair" condition at their last inspections. [41]

Panoramic view of Fern Hollow from the east end (Feb 27, 2022). By this time, all
broken bridge structures had been removed.

The city briefly made an observation site available, but closed it by February 2, [42]
[43]
 as the reconstruction effort began.[44]