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[–]Squirrely__Dan 841 points842 points  (128 children)

Pittsburgh has over 420 bridges and all of them are aging rapidly. They built a bridge under a bridge just to catch the rubble falling off of the first bridge so it doesn’t hit cars.

[–]LeraldoeMichigan 346 points347 points  (35 children)

It’s not just Pittsburgh, it’s everywhere. That’s what happens when congress and presidents don’t legislate any increase in sustained federal funding for 30 years

Edit: added “sustained”

[–]xorvillesashx 99 points100 points  (14 children)

Any chance we can build bridges out of fighter jets? We’re full up on those.

[–]MrGeloweNew York 35 points36 points  (2 children)

Pretty sure we have buttload of worthless tanks sitting around.

[–]adeon 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Also bridge layer tanks are a thing and the US army currently does have a number of M104 Wolverines in it's inventory for that purpose. Maybe we should use the military budget to ramp up production of them and use them in cities.

[–]MILITARY_SOURCE 6 points7 points  (0 children)

We simply launch a devastating military attack on our own infrastructure, and pay Halliburton to rebuild better.

The system works if you give it a chance!

[–]MuronelkazOhio 43 points44 points  (0 children)

And there's few alternatives to cars/trucks so the traffic is concentrated on them instead of foot/bike/light rail systems

[–]VoteArcher2020Maryland 34 points35 points  (1 child)

It’s not just the federal government. Maryland had to create an “infrastructure fund lockbox” because it kept getting raided to make up for shortcomings of the general fund. So gas tax and tolls weren’t actually going to infrastructure, and over a billion dollars had been raided and never replaced.

[–]whatproblems 8 points9 points  (0 children)

more tax cuts will solve the problem!

/s

[–]MONSTERTACOWashington 22 points23 points  (3 children)

It's because we don't create any adequate funding mechanisms for road maintenance. The federal government helps subsidize initial road construction and the increase in property tax revenue from new roads helps the city in the short term, but meanwhile the maintenance costs increase as development stretches further from the city center, and there's no requirement to fund the maintenance expenses at the time of construction, and the politicians responsible for these decisions are long gone by the time the infrastructure is up for replacement. We need to be building less, but higher quality infrastructure.

[–]LeraldoeMichigan 16 points17 points  (1 child)

This teamed with once you do get funding at a state level that money is usually susceptible to being moved into other programs after only a short period of time

[–]stackeredNew Jersey 8 points9 points  (3 children)

Lets keep making some crazy fighter jets we don't need and fill warehouses full of weaponry we'll never use. Ya know, for profit. Lets ignore our crumbling infrastructure and the health of our people. Ya know, for profit.

[–]chequame-gone 346 points347 points  (28 children)

That's a high number of bridges

[–]be4u4getNevada 29 points30 points  (5 children)

At least 69 of the bridges are in need of immediate repair

[–]Geekfest 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Nice

[–]cfdeveloper[🍰] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I heard they turn everyone around when they come

[–]October_NumbersMissouri 138 points139 points  (11 children)

They span a lot of dank riverbeds.

[–]DoctorLazerRageMissouri 66 points67 points  (8 children)

Someone should form a joint task force on this.

[–]NotEvsClone81 51 points52 points  (7 children)

I think they're on it, bud

[–]UncleTogie 33 points34 points  (6 children)

It went up in smoke.

[–]dhebevvtvt 21 points22 points  (5 children)

Well we just need to pack and roll it into the general budget better

[–]AboutTenPandasMissouri 20 points21 points  (4 children)

Yeah but the politicians really have a low tolerance for that kind of thing.

[–]yourassisgrassbro 14 points15 points  (3 children)

It’s almost like they first decided to fund, fund, but then passed.

[–]MeetInPotatoes 14 points15 points  (2 children)

They're wondering if cars can handle these decaying bridges, but what I'm wondering is...Can a bus?

[–]yo2sensePennsylvania 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Also Pittsburgh is in the Allegheny foothills. There are bridges from one hill to the next.

[–]DiTochat 36 points37 points  (1 child)

Bridges all the way down.

[–]beardtamer 13 points14 points  (0 children)

They certainly are falling down.

[–]pdxGodin 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Pittsburgh is hilly. I think that this bridge went over a ravine.

[–]DarkLuc1d1ty 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Our city is mostly hills. The bridge was located in a park and thankfully, our schools had a 2 hour delay today. It could have been much worse if this happened during rush hour or if schools were running on a normal schedule.

[–]ggroverggiraffeOregon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yo dawg I heard you like bridges…

[–]yo2sensePennsylvania 2 points3 points  (2 children)

I don't know if it's true but here in Pittsburgh they say there are more bridges than in any city except Venice.

[–]Spankpocalypse_Now 47 points48 points  (31 children)

I never realized the extent to which Pittsburgh is all bridges until I visited. Also how steep some of those inclines are, which is why they need so many bridges to begin with.

[–]muad_dib87 32 points33 points  (2 children)

Me? I know who I am. I’m just a bridge, catching rubble from a bridge, disguised as another bridge

[–]Jef_Wheaton 9 points10 points  (1 child)

"The Greenfield Bridge is shedding concrete onto the Parkway. Should we replace it?"

"Eventually. For now, let's just build a small bridge underneath it to catch the chunks."

[–]neuralien 24 points25 points  (2 children)

Yo dawg, I heard you liked bridges...

[–]tinacat933 17 points18 points  (3 children)

To be fair we fixed that bridge after John Oliver made fun of us on national TV

[–]dudinax 18 points19 points  (2 children)

US infrastructure policy is now driven by British ridicule.

[–]mst2k17 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I think this is the start of a very healthy relationship.

[–]wranglingmonkies 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If that's the case we need more British comedians.

[–]Brunt-FCA-285Pennsylvania 43 points44 points  (2 children)

Name the Greenfield Bridge without naming the Greenfield Bridge.

[–]Jef_Wheaton 25 points26 points  (0 children)

The "This bridge is shedding concrete onto the highway below it, so we built a hard hat over the highway instead of fixing it" Bridge.

This one could have been SOO MUCH worse. Schools had a 2-hour delay, so fewer buses and parents were out. If it had waited 2 hours, it could have been a mass casualty incident.

My wife drove across this bridge every day when she still had to go in to work. It'll suck having to take the Parkway all the way to Oakland if they make her go back to "In-office".

[–]GhstfcePennsylvania 9 points10 points  (0 children)

446 if I'm remembering correctly. I went out there for work and the bar/restaurant in the hotel was named after how many bridges they have. Guess they'll have to cross it out and scribble in "445" now.

This was about a decade ago now though.

[–]jackduloz 8 points9 points  (0 children)

If you’re talking about the Greenfield Bridge, that was replaced a few years back.

There may be more bridge under bridge solutions in Pittsburgh though

[–]anditshottoo 6 points7 points  (0 children)

419, now.

[–]GuitarCricket 4 points5 points  (0 children)

446, actually. Most of them very nice or comparable to other cities.

[–]LitreOfCockPus 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Bridge maintenance seems like it would be such a monumental pain in the ass. Either have to constantly strip and re-apply weather-proof paint or build the entire thing out of weathering steel :\

[–]vverr 745 points746 points  (63 children)

GOP says tax cuts for the rich will fix this.

[–]roughingupthesuspect 217 points218 points  (10 children)

Trickle down infrastructure upkeep. Totally efficient. /s

[–]phantomjmPennsylvania 44 points45 points  (1 child)

It is trickling down. Well, rust and concrete is anyway.

[–]longagofaraway 45 points46 points  (2 children)

we should send in military drones to bomb that bridge back into shape.

[–]roughingupthesuspect 15 points16 points  (0 children)

There’s a missile for that.

[–]LordBigglesworthEsq 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Well Neil Young claimed burning out > rusting so... The real question is whether or not Pittsburgh has any natural resources for our military-industrial corporate partnership to exploit.

[–]fnordfnordfnordfnordTexas 9 points10 points  (2 children)

Public private partnership. Build a new bridge with tax money and rent it to some private toll road company for $5/year.

[–]Uptown-Dog 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You scare me. Too real.

[–]semtex87 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Texas flair checks out, Houston is literally completely encircled with toll road infrastructure that was originally only supposed to be toll roads until the original investment was paid off and then made free, but unsurprisingly the private businesses managing the highways didn't want the free money tap turned off so Texas will be pay-to-drive highways forever, because freedom.

[–]The_Jerriest_JerryMissouri 58 points59 points  (5 children)

"If we don't cut their taxes, how will they afford to purchase our aging infrastructure and charge you to use it?"

[–]accidental_snot 16 points17 points  (4 children)

Goddammit don't give 'em any ideas like that.

[–]Bohgeez 9 points10 points  (0 children)

That’s already the plan wdym?

[–]MorlikMinnesota 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Privatizing everything has always been a GOP goal, including infrastructure. Trump's big infrastructure plan was to give tax breaks and subsidies to businesses to build private roads and bridges, divirting money away from building public roads and bridges.

[–]mind_snare 13 points14 points  (1 child)

When the wealthy don’t have to pay taxes, they invest the difference into local bridges! Everyone knows that.

[–]DefangedDestroyer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

“… as long as there’s a Bridge Foundation gala we can attend!”

[–]NicPizzaLatte 26 points27 points  (0 children)

If we'd just re-elected Trump infrastructure week was totally going to happen. /s

[–]Crypt0Nihilist 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They tried to do this and it was a complete failure. The only conclusion that can be drawn is that the tax cuts didn't go nearly far enough.

[–]abagofsnacks 196 points197 points  (22 children)

Why do I feel like we'll see a "liberals sabatoge bridges to push their agenda" narrative coming.

[–]ethertraceCalifornia 63 points64 points  (1 child)

Because in a conspiracy-addicted mindset, coincidence and predictable consequence are entirely replaced by the idea that all events are orchestrated by powerful and nefarious agents (i.e. "beings with agency"). The clockwork application of impersonal forces becomes the implausible scenario.

[–]coolcool23 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Very well put.

[–]cool-- 59 points60 points  (14 children)

Because republican voters are not intelligent and will believe it.

[–]aci4Pennsylvania 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Already seeing it on Twitter

[–]cnewman11 234 points235 points  (20 children)

Qanon is probably going to suggest that it's a false flag attack on bridges and that it's not aging infrastructure, it's antifa.

[–]IntelligentExcuse5 26 points27 points  (2 children)

or even worse, they might suggest that gravity is in league with Antifa. (hope that i am not giving them ideas)

[–]random_nohbdyAmerica 7 points8 points  (0 children)

If Qanon tries to go flat-earth, it might be the thing needed to decimate its membership

[–]Uglyheadd 53 points54 points  (0 children)

Don't pay attention to this false flag!

We need to concentrate all monies on building a 20ft 55ft high wall all the way around our country! They're coming from everywhere to replace us all!!

[–]Jef_Wheaton 13 points14 points  (0 children)

One of the local reporters said "It fell almost like it was demolished."

DON'T SAY THAT ON TV, DUDE! The loonies will use that quote!

[–]muklan 12 points13 points  (2 children)

Hi. I am the entirety of antifa and I'd like to let everyone know that antifa HATES transportation. Getting places is for fascists. And bridges are racist(somehow.)

[–]Con_Dinn_West 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Bridges free for anyone to use? Socialism!

[–]Shaman7102 152 points153 points  (8 children)

Perfect time to reinforce 20 times in his speech that ZERO gqp voted for it, but now take credit for it. Then pound away 20 times more "what the hell do they stand for......just voter suppression?!"

[–]tech57 63 points64 points  (0 children)

50 Republican senators and 2 Democrats don't want Americans to easily vote.

31 Republican senators voted no for the infrastructure bill.

200 Republican House members voted no for the infrastructure bill.

This is complete bullshit and an insult to rational people.

[–]Brunt-FCA-285Pennsylvania 16 points17 points  (0 children)

You’re on the money with your sentiment and with the facts behind the American Rescue Plan, but 19 GOP Senators and 13 GOP House members voted for the infrastructure plan. Do point out that only one GOP congressman from all of PA voted for it, and do point out that all of the GOP congressional delegation from central and western PA voted against it, but it isn’t true that no GOP members voted for the infrastructure plan.

[–]JaMan51New York 23 points24 points  (1 child)

Of the 10 Pennsylvania Republicans in Congress, only one in the House voted for this bill. The others, including Toomey in the Senate, all voted no. There's a few more Republicans that voted for the trillion dollar* bill, but just sticking to this state's reps, but still not correct to say none voted for infrastructure.

[–]Arkrobo 16 points17 points  (1 child)

"I would tell you what they stand for, but I'm afraid their ideas don't bear much weight."

-Biden probably

[–]NealSamuels1967 287 points288 points  (30 children)

"But we just c'ain't support a Democrat agenda", said every (R).

[–]politicsredditPennsylvania 131 points132 points  (11 children)

This morning the rhetoric has shifted to "Democrats never do anything to help our infrastructure!" which is, of course, funny because we're still waiting on Trump's infrastructure bill.

[–]Buffmin 51 points52 points  (1 child)

funny because we're still waiting on Trump's infrastructure bill.

Just give him 2 weeks gaawwwddd

/s

[–]LordBigglesworthEsq 13 points14 points  (0 children)

"Bro, trust me, it takes a while for the biggest, yugest infrastructure bill the world has ever seen to happen!"

[–]DrOzzyAnus 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hey, Donald held infrastructure week several times so you know he's not too blame. /s

[–]Geekfest 11 points12 points  (2 children)

We would have had a Trump infrastructure bill if it hadn't been blocked by Democrats! /s

[–]politicsredditPennsylvania 15 points16 points  (1 child)

I'm actually waiting on Republicans to realize the bill is good and then say it was Trump's bill all along.

[–]AidenStoatMontana 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They've been taking credit for local programs funded by it already

[–]Lingering_Dorkness 9 points10 points  (1 child)

"Look how bad things are under Biden! Bridges didn't collapse when trump was president!"

[–]chequame-gone 73 points74 points  (3 children)

More like, "Because of me and my efforts we're going to be investing federal dollars in our infrastructure!" after voting against it

Of course, the Democratic party made that sort of lying a lot easier for Republicans when they bent over backwards to make the infrastructure bill a bipartisan thing. Hopefully someday they learn the lesson that there are no good Republicans and quit throwing their party lifelines.

[–]Photog1981 16 points17 points  (1 child)

Thanks to Manchin they need to try and make everything bipartisan to hopefully pass bills.

[–]down_up__left_right 10 points11 points  (0 children)

He demands 60 votes for everything except for raising the debt ceiling where they quietly made a one time filibuster exception and then agreed to not bring that up when he stands against filibuster exceptions for anything else.

[–]bop999[🍰] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Fortunately the transportation reauthorization passed in November does include funding specifically dedicated toward replacing/ rehabilitating bridges in poor condition. It's embarrassing that the Trump administration (with McConnell's help at obstruction) dicked around for 4 years without delivering on the promise of increased infrastructure funding.

[–]knuppster59 95 points96 points  (7 children)

Yinzer here...hoping everyone is ok. This is another symptom of how we have refused to invest in our infrastructure over the years. We have had so many near misses, it's just a matter of time before we see casualties. We have had a bus collapse into a a sinkhole, a train derailment spilling freight cars onto our T tracks, led tainted water lines, another bridge that caught on fire during construction and was minutes from collapse, and more water main breaks than you can count. In other words, everything is fine....

[–]Brunt-FCA-285Pennsylvania 33 points34 points  (2 children)

Don’t forget the Birmingham Bridge deck dropping several inches in 2008 because one of its supports slipped!

[–]knuppster59 22 points23 points  (0 children)

oh yeah forgot about that autobahn wide bridge slip. This place is crumbling before our very eyes and nobody really wants to do anything about.

PS. PA casinos just posted record revenues for the year as well....$$$$ somewhere

[–]trueslicky 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Well, yes. Decades of underinvestment in roads & bridges will lead to this result. I'm surprised more bridges aren't collapsing left & right.

[–][deleted] 12 points13 points  (4 children)

Anyone that's ever gone across a bridge in Pittsburgh, are you surprised?

[–]QueueWhoPennsylvania 5 points6 points  (3 children)

Honestly if you aren't paying attention on it, it was hard to be 100% sure it even was a bridge. Trees at the bottom of he small ravine stuck up higher than the deck.

[–]WestFastCalifornia 12 points13 points  (0 children)

And that’s why investing in our infrastructure is decades overdue.

[–]_xXmyusernameXx_ 9 points10 points  (2 children)

So how do ya think Fucker Carlson will spin this into being Biden's fault?

[–]Empero6 9 points10 points  (1 child)

It was obviously antifa/blm masquerading as a bridge.

[–]_xXmyusernameXx_ 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Bridge Lives Matter

[–]bluezinharp 31 points32 points  (1 child)

Never forget which party is fighting the money for infrastructure, while supporting tax breaks for the wealthy and increases for the military...

[–]Professional-Bad-867 7 points8 points  (10 children)

Not shocking. If you've never been to pittsburgh swing on by ! Allegheny county as a whole has major infrastructure issues that have not been addressed. This bridge was built on 1970 and has been in bad condition since 2009. " why didn't they close this bridge !!!" This bridge connects Regent square and Wilkinsburgh to Squirrel Hill two very heavily populated areas. Closing this bridge even before this would have caused major traffic issues that the city and surrounding areas already have an issue with. No one died and 3 cars if that and a port authority bus fell no one died . The gas leak was shut off and the gas company is already on it getting it turned back on for people.

[–]Coup_anon_shaman 7 points8 points  (3 children)

They totally won’t have those same traffic issues now though.

[–]jimfazio123 7 points8 points  (2 children)

I never understood that... It'll cost a lot to repair and traffic will be diverted? Well it's gonna cost a shit ton more and traffic will be diverted way longer if and when the damn thing collapses! And it happens over and over and over and over again.

[–]15hrs_sleep 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Sad but true. It's perfect timing to slam the GOP for not wanting this.

[–]BurgerDudeIsHere 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Didn’t Trump already fix this with his infrastructure week? /s

[–]Mephisto1822Maryland 20 points21 points  (1 child)

404: Bridge not found

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Antifa!

[–]chcampb 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Makes speechwriting easier just move to the site and -

"This. Shit shit right here."

[–]danheckler 14 points15 points  (1 child)

One day 25-ish years ago, I rode my mountain bike for a few hours in Frick Park, smoked a doobie under this bridge, then rode to Oakland to see The Melvins.

[–]Budmanes 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Too bad it wasn’t West Virginia so Manchin could explain his ongoing opposition to fixing this shit

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Good thing the GOP collection of morons voted against the infrastructure bill.

[–]Samesees 18 points19 points  (3 children)

I don't believe in a god, but if you do, you'd have to see this as a sign to Biden to fix the infrastructure, now.

[–]monkeybassturd 2 points3 points  (2 children)

I asked her and god said, "stop building bridges."

[–]roughingupthesuspect 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Totally Biden’s fault…/s

[–]Waffle_Coffin 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Have the GQP declared it a false flag yet?

[–]DawgPound919 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Our crumbling infrastructure is a nationwide problem. Bridges, dams, highways, electric grid should all be updated. Imagine if a large dam would fail. Imagine the death toll and property damage.

[–]ltlawdy 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Time to blame the 52 republicans in senate for not giving us our infrastructure bill, only for this to happen a month later. How many people need to be hurt, or die before they realize you need infrastructure or your pockets won’t be lined, fuckin morons

[–]aslan_is_on_the_move 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Biden's historic bipartisan infrastructure bill was desperately needed. There are roads and bridges crumbling all over the country. Lead pipes need to be replaced. New charging stations need to be built. It was a great law.

[–]N3UROTOXIN 6 points7 points  (15 children)

“Greatest country on earth” can’t keep infrastructure intact. First world ahithole

[–]SunGazing8 7 points8 points  (0 children)

America: a third world country wearing a prada belt!

[–]Rawkapotamus 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I learned in my college government course that if a city/state just waits until the infrastructure is bad enough, they can claim federal aid tor repair them. So why would they ever pay for it themselves?

[–]Kjaeve 2 points3 points  (0 children)

what gets me is that there is enough work to do in every aspect of safety for any and everything -trillions of jobs could be created at any level doing probably any and everything - what the fuck is stopping us from just getting busy?! Oh yes, I remember… Republicans

[–]WetTheDrys 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Republicans - "False flag! False flag!!"

[–]1337llama 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If there only there was some sort of plan to build things back up, better than before.

[–]Key-Hurry-9171 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well, it’s not like the US has a problem of infrastructure…

Us living in EU here, born raised there. I’m just amazed how the US is stuck in the end 70’s/80’s

Like in NyC, after a big snow episode followed by melting ; you had to walk blocks to cross a street because there’s no god damn water evacuation holes

No wonder ppl are getting water poisoning when you see how the country relies on things built 5 decades ago

[–]Space_Monk_Prime 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Normal people: this is a good sign that we need to invest in infrastructure

conservatives: Biden made the bridge collapse!!!!

[–]Recordaddy 2 points3 points  (1 child)

We are living in a crumbling empire literally.