Cover news reporter Yan Lei intern Luo Qiyu
Local time reported on the 28th that a bridge in Pittsburgh, the United States, collapsed, causing at least 10 injuries. Biden also went to Pittsburgh to inspect infrastructure on the same day.
A bridge in Pittsburgh, USA, collapsed, injuring many people
At 6:00 a.m. local time on January 28, the Forbes Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, united States, suddenly collapsed. There were six vehicles on the bridge at the time, including a bus that injured at least 10 people.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to the scene of the accident. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 3,198 bridges in Pennsylvania are rated as under-performing.
Pennsylvania is the third-largest state in bridge repair funding, after California and New York. Two weeks later, Pennsylvania will receive $327 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation for bridge repairs.
Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Feitman said in an interview that the bridge is an "important artery" in the Pittsburgh area. Pittsburgh Mayor Genny said the last inspection on the bridge was in September 2021.
Fire Chief Jones said officials were not worried about the bridge before it collapsed. "Bridges in the city go through routine inspections and if there are any warnings or concerns, we'll be notified and we'll make sure we don't take this route," he said. ”
Local official: Rebuilding the bridge could take at least a year
A nearby resident, Wendy Stro, said she heard the sound of the collapse but thought it sounded like a giant snowplow pushing snow on a snowless tarmac. Stro said, "It's terrible, there are a lot of ambulances and fire trucks coming." ”
Allegheny County Administrator Richie Fitzgerald said there are usually a lot of people walking or jogging on the trails under the bridge, but due to weather and timing, no one was there at the time of the incident. "No one was more seriously injured and no one died," he said. We have to solve these problems, because one day our luck will run out. ”
Fitzgerald said rebuilding the bridge could take "at least a year," which is "a very, very big inconvenience" for people who travel on the bridge.
Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Feitman said in a statement that the collapse was "just one in a long list of preventable man-made disasters that attest to what many of us in Pennsylvania have been saying for years: Our infrastructure is failing our people." ”
Biden's on-site inspection stresses the need to "rebuild America for a better"
On Jan. 28, Biden happened to travel to Pennsylvania to promote the Better Rebuild Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. At noon that day, Biden personally went to the site of the collapsed bridge to inspect.
In a televised address in the afternoon, Biden noted that the collapse of the Pittsburgh Bridge once again demonstrated the importance of repairing and rebuilding America's roads, bridges and other infrastructure for the security of the country and its people.
"There are 45,000 bridges across the United States that are in poor condition," he emphasized. This is unacceptable. That's why your governors, members of Congress, mayors have been calling for this for years. The passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act finally gives us the opportunity to complete the first national plan in U.S. history to repair and upgrade roads and bridges. We must seize the time to act and never again hear any reports of casualties caused by the collapse of the bridge. ”
Biden said he put forward a vision for a better America at the beginning of his 2020 election. The middle class is the "backbone" of The United States, and for the country's future to be better, it must bring better pay and dignity to the middle class that built the country, which is at the heart of his "Rebuild Better" agenda.
He then described the important role the Rebuild better act could play in driving U.S. manufacturing, reducing the cost of living and health care for U.S. households, and addressing the climate crisis, and reiterated the bill's commitment to full payment without raising taxes on middle-class families.
Biden concluded by emphasizing: "America is facing a historic turning point in social change and technological innovation, and we face an incredible opportunity." If we can unite and invest in the backbone of this country, then we will have unlimited achievements. Let us put aside the bickering and work together to build a better America. ”
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