Biden touts infrastructure importance in Pittsburgh visit after bridge collapse

With foundations literally crumbling in Pittsburgh on Friday after a bridge in Frick Park collapsed, President Biden visited the city to tout the importance of infrastructure funding recently allocated by Congress.

In front of a crowd of invited guests and media at Carnegie Mellon University’s Mill 19 research and development center in Hazelwood, Biden praised the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed late last year and the work being done in Pittsburgh in advanced manufacturing and robotics.

“Right here in Pittsburgh, the future is being built on the foundation of this city’s storied past,” said Biden.

Biden’s visit to Pittsburgh came just hours after a bridge carrying Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Frick Park collapsed. A Port Authority bus and multiple private vehicles were on it during the collapse. Pittsburgh officials said 10 people were injured, but no one suffered serious injuries. According to PennDOT, the bridge was rated in poor condition — one of dozens in Allegheny County with that distinction.

Pittsburgh officials said they are investigating the cause of the collapse.

Biden visited the bridge for about 10 minutes before traveling to Hazelwood. He said he never realized just how many bridges existed in the city.

“We are going to fix them all,” he said while at the collapsed bridge site.

He also addressed the bridge later during his speech and said there were thousands of more bridges across Pennsylvania that are “just as old and decrepit” as the bridge that fell. He said the infrastructure bill allocates at least $1.6 billion for bridges in Pennsylvania alone.

“We don’t need headlines that someone was killed,” Biden said. “We are gonna rebuild that bridge and every other bridge. … That’s how we are going to build another America.”

In front of a crowd consisting of a few dozen invited guests, including several local Democratic politicians and labor union representatives, Biden touted the $857 million that will be used to rebuild the Montgomery Locks and Dam on the Ohio River in Beaver County, and how that fix will help maintain the flow of supplies to and from Pittsburgh and the region.

“We move about half a trillion (dollars worth) of goods through those locks, and when they are not working, it creates choke points,” said Biden.

Related:

• Biden visits site of Pittsburgh bridge collapse
• 10 injured in bridge collapse in Pittsburgh’s Frick Park

Several local politicians attended the speech, and Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Rich Fitzgerald provided opening comments for the president. Both thanked Biden for visiting the collapsed bridge site. U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman — Democratic opponents in the primary race for U.S. Senate — sat next to each other in the front row. It was reported earlier that Fetterman wasn’t going to attend, but he was on site at the bridge collapse and showed up at the event.

Biden also spoke about his plan to plug abandoned gas wells throughout the country. Pennsylvania is home to thousands of these abandoned wells, which are known to leak methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.

“Now it is time to create good-paying union jobs, capping those wells,” he said.

Biden’s speech was a repeat of many of his plans and campaign promises. After speaking of the infrastructure bill and efforts to fix the supply chain, he advocated for the Build Back Better bill, a trillion-dollar plan to address issues like climate change, child care, paid leave and universal Pre-K schooling. Biden even became emphatic and raised his voice during the speech when talking about the necessity of this bill to help working families.

“Can you imagine looking at your child, and knowing what they need, and not being able to do it?” said Biden in a reference to money in Build Back Better for child care.

In addition to addressing infrastructure needs, Biden also toured Mill 19 facilities that include robotics and advanced manufacturing equipment, including a 3-D printer that creates aerospace parts on its own in about one day.

The Pittsburgh visit comes as Biden’s approval rating is at a low point for his term. According to a recent Pew poll, 41% of Americans approve of the job Biden has done, down from 44% in September.

In an attempt to rebuke those polls, Biden spoke of the most recent economic figures, claiming that his presidency is working well. He spoke about how during his one year in office, there have been 6.1 million jobs created. He also touted the recent announcements of a semiconductor plant in Ohio that he said is emblematic of his economic agenda of bringing back manufacturing employment to American soil. He said that the United States actually saw an increase in manufacturing jobs over the past year, and the largest increase in manufacturing employment in 30 years.

“The key is these jobs are manufacturing essential products,” said Biden. “And they are stamped ‘made in America.’”

Biden wrapped up his speech with another plea for his Build Back Better plan. Negotiations have stalled again for the plan, with Democratic U.S. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia raising objections to its price tag and showing a reluctance to bypass the filibuster in attempting to pass it.

Biden hinted he is ready to start negotiating again.

“It’s about time to stop fighting and it’s about time we start working together again,” Biden said.