Bridge collapse: Monday marks first morning commute without Fern Hollow Bridge

PITTSBURGH — Monday will be the first true test of just how much the Fern Hollow Bridge will be missed in Pittsburgh, and local leaders are still trying to figure out how to address this.

A lot of planning will need to go into figuring out different routes for the thousands of cars that used the bridge every day, and the students who used the bridge to get to and from school.

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“I don’t think most people realize how important of a bridge it was until we lost it,” said City Council member Erika Strassberger. “When you think about the number of people using it to get to school, get to work, exit the eastern suburbs, get to the parkway and even just use as a pedestrian getting over the bridge to get to transit, it’s a huge deal.”

Strassberger says there are 14,000 cars that drove over the bridge every day, in addition to pedestrians that depended on the bridge to get around. Mayor Ed Gainey says there are meetings planned to figure out how to get around with the bridge being out for the next couple of years.

In the meantime, it will be a tough adjustment for everyone.

For now, it’s going to mean more traffic on nearby streets like Reynolds Street and East End Ave, and Strassberger worries about emergency delays.

“It’s going to impact public safety, police and fire use it to get to that part of the city, so it’s going to mean public safety delays,” she explained.

There’s no set day or time for when the meetings to figure things out will take place, but Channel 11 will keep you updated with the latest.

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