5 ms·

Only a tiny exaggeration by the submitter there! Makes it sound like a bridge over the Monongahela collapsed, which it didn't.

hiidrew 5y ago
I also think the bridge is pretty high up, I'd say around 40-50 feet high. Thankfully below it was a nature trail. Could have been worse if it was one of the bridges over the rivers or highways.
- bmj 5y ago
  Thankfully there didn't seem to be anyone on the trail! That is a heavily trafficked trail during the day, and there is a dog park in the shadow of the bridge. I use that trail all the time to access the mountain bike trails that Frick Park has.
  - hiidrew 5y ago
    Seriously! I imagine if this was the summer some would be out.
shadowgovt 5y ago
It's major for impact. This bridge carries a significant thoroughfare between two of the neighborhoods on the edge of town. It's a primary avenue for several bus routes. Traffic is going to be an absolute nightmare until they restore it.
- hnrodey 5y ago
  2025
curiousllama 5y ago
Maybe not major for Pittsburgh, land of bridges, but sure would be major elsewhere. The thing is huge!
halpert 5y ago
Properly maintained bridges of any size shouldn’t randomly collapse. It’s always major.
matsemann 5y ago
Maybe it's the weird capitalization, or that I'm not a native English speaker, but "Major Bridge Collapses" to me sounds like the title of something. Aka a list of collapses, a book, long article about some history or whatever. Not something happening right now. So to me the title was underwhelming, not an exaggeration, because of that misunderstanding.
- jhauris 5y ago
  Since the phrase is an article title it follows the capitalization rules. It does get confusing with proper nouns sometimes, so there is a slight ambiguity. In this case it's probably also confusing that the ending of collapse is the same for plural and different tenses.
paganel 5y ago
Looks pretty big to me. Granted, it's not the Mississippi but as long as an articulated bus is involved with lots more "bridge" that felt I'd say is pretty big.
- Vrondi 5y ago
  It only goes over a little creek. Not even a river.
  - mlac 5y ago
    It’s probably a 50-60 ft ravine and the bridge was probably 200ft long (these are guesstimates from just being around it). Edit: I just checked - it was 447 feet. Height is probably right, but I might be under by a bit.
  - eCa 5y ago
    A 150+ ft deep ravine, according to the article: > Jones estimated that rescue crews had to rappel 100 to 150 feet down the ravine to rescue motorists.
jacknews 5y ago
Most of those photos don't do it justice, they make it look like a few meters of concrete block over a stream. This is the only one that shows the scale: https://assets-varnish.triblive.com/2022/01/4691113_web1_ptr-bridgecollapse-012922.jpg https://assets-varnish.triblive.com/2022/01/4691113_web1_ptr...
- holmium 5y ago
  This one is another great shot for scale: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FKMeYsZXEAYzpan?format=jpg&name=large https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FKMeYsZXEAYzpan?format=jpg&name=... [from: https://twitter.com/shadow/status/1487065719028207627/photo/1 https://twitter.com/shadow/status/1487065719028207627/photo/...]
dsiegel2275 5y ago
It is a "major" bridge. I've driven over it more than a thousand times, given that it was on my commute route for several years of my career. Had this collapsed at rush hour, 5pm, two of four lanes would have been filled with cars backed up waiting in traffic. The best photo I can find of it to see the scale: https://twitter.com/shadow/status/1487051654121807875/photo/1 https://twitter.com/shadow/status/1487051654121807875/photo/... It is the bridge on the bottom.
- rossitter 5y ago
  This image from Streetview, taken about halfway across the bridge, shows the scale well, I think: https://www.google.com/maps/@40.439515,-79.9004771,3a,75y,99.78h,91.51t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5niLlYkAKbiHSmPnEBs6Zw!2e0!7i3328!8i1664 https://www.google.com/maps/@40.439515,-79.9004771,3a,75y,99...
mbauman 5y ago
It is very major. There are only 3 roads that cross this (nearly 3 mile) ravine that cuts off a huge portion of the city's population: a local 2-lane neighborhood road, Forbes (this bridge), and the limited access interstate.
rsfern 5y ago
I used to live two blocks from this bridge. At evening rush hour it’s bumper to bumper traffic Not as bad as like the fort Pitt bridge collapsing or something, but still a big deal

hiidrew 5y ago

I also think the bridge is pretty high up, I'd say around 40-50 feet high. Thankfully below it was a nature trail. Could have been worse if it was one of the bridges over the rivers or highways.

bmj 5y ago
Thankfully there didn't seem to be anyone on the trail! That is a heavily trafficked trail during the day, and there is a dog park in the shadow of the bridge. I use that trail all the time to access the mountain bike trails that Frick Park has.
- hiidrew 5y ago
  Seriously! I imagine if this was the summer some would be out.

shadowgovt 5y ago

It's major for impact. This bridge carries a significant thoroughfare between two of the neighborhoods on the edge of town. It's a primary avenue for several bus routes. Traffic is going to be an absolute nightmare until they restore it.

hnrodey 5y ago
2025

curiousllama 5y ago

Maybe not major for Pittsburgh, land of bridges, but sure would be major elsewhere. The thing is huge!

halpert 5y ago

Properly maintained bridges of any size shouldn’t randomly collapse. It’s always major.

matsemann 5y ago

Maybe it's the weird capitalization, or that I'm not a native English speaker, but "Major Bridge Collapses" to me sounds like the title of something. Aka a list of collapses, a book, long article about some history or whatever. Not something happening right now. So to me the title was underwhelming, not an exaggeration, because of that misunderstanding.

jhauris 5y ago
Since the phrase is an article title it follows the capitalization rules. It does get confusing with proper nouns sometimes, so there is a slight ambiguity. In this case it's probably also confusing that the ending of collapse is the same for plural and different tenses.

paganel 5y ago

Looks pretty big to me. Granted, it's not the Mississippi but as long as an articulated bus is involved with lots more "bridge" that felt I'd say is pretty big.

Vrondi 5y ago
It only goes over a little creek. Not even a river.
- mlac 5y ago
  It’s probably a 50-60 ft ravine and the bridge was probably 200ft long (these are guesstimates from just being around it). Edit: I just checked - it was 447 feet. Height is probably right, but I might be under by a bit.
- eCa 5y ago
  A 150+ ft deep ravine, according to the article: > Jones estimated that rescue crews had to rappel 100 to 150 feet down the ravine to rescue motorists.

jacknews 5y ago

Most of those photos don't do it justice, they make it look like a few meters of concrete block over a stream. This is the only one that shows the scale: https://assets-varnish.triblive.com/2022/01/4691113_web1_ptr-bridgecollapse-012922.jpg https://assets-varnish.triblive.com/2022/01/4691113_web1_ptr...

holmium 5y ago
This one is another great shot for scale: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FKMeYsZXEAYzpan?format=jpg&name=large https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FKMeYsZXEAYzpan?format=jpg&name=... [from: https://twitter.com/shadow/status/1487065719028207627/photo/1 https://twitter.com/shadow/status/1487065719028207627/photo/...]

dsiegel2275 5y ago

It is a "major" bridge. I've driven over it more than a thousand times, given that it was on my commute route for several years of my career. Had this collapsed at rush hour, 5pm, two of four lanes would have been filled with cars backed up waiting in traffic. The best photo I can find of it to see the scale: https://twitter.com/shadow/status/1487051654121807875/photo/1 https://twitter.com/shadow/status/1487051654121807875/photo/... It is the bridge on the bottom.

rossitter 5y ago
This image from Streetview, taken about halfway across the bridge, shows the scale well, I think: https://www.google.com/maps/@40.439515,-79.9004771,3a,75y,99.78h,91.51t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5niLlYkAKbiHSmPnEBs6Zw!2e0!7i3328!8i1664 https://www.google.com/maps/@40.439515,-79.9004771,3a,75y,99...

mbauman 5y ago

It is very major. There are only 3 roads that cross this (nearly 3 mile) ravine that cuts off a huge portion of the city's population: a local 2-lane neighborhood road, Forbes (this bridge), and the limited access interstate.

rsfern 5y ago

I used to live two blocks from this bridge. At evening rush hour it’s bumper to bumper traffic Not as bad as like the fort Pitt bridge collapsing or something, but still a big deal