1 February 2022
It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s a flying bus!
By now I’m sure you’ve heard of the Forbes Avenue Bridge collapse in Pittsburgh before dawn on Friday 28 Jan 2022. The Fern Hollow Bridge fell down in the valley at about 6:39am, taking with it a Port Authority articulated bus and five vehicles. Fortunately no one died and injuries were not life-threatening.
Click on the image for a larger view of the photo below.
Frick Park was closed all weekend while NTSB gathered data for the investigation. When the park reopened yesterday afternoon I headed there to gawk, not knowing that I’d be just in time to watch them raise the bus using a 50 ton crane. Wow!
Here are just a few photos from the Squirrel Hill side of the collapse. Read the captions for the explanations.
4:56pm: When I arrived the bus already had been pulled slowly from under the slab and was fully exposed. Three men in the sky bucket supervised and pulled debris off the bus roof. Men on the steep slope (ladders) secured the lift chains.
5:15pm: The bus begins to move out. Signs of “Frick Park” and “Weight Limit 26 tons.”
As the bus flew very slowly I took a video. You can hear the comments of a boy standing nearby. Click the Full Screen icon on the video [] if you want a bigger view.
The crane operator parked it on the street. Slowly!
It was a Once in a Lifetime experience — a flying bus in Squirrel Hill!
More videos and stills from TV and media:
- Drone footage on 28 Jan after the collapse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqigcvseFKo&ab_channel=GlobalNews
- KDKA, 31 Jan, the bus in the air: https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/video/6193776-port-authority-bus-hoisted-from-site-of-pittsburgh-bridge-collapse/
- WPXI, 31 Jan (earlier footage while they prepared the bus): https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/dozens-watch-crews-lift-pat-bus-hundreds-feet-into-air-after-pittsburgh-bridge-collapse/fe736002-f53d-42bf-899c-661f2ea37222/
- WPXI, 31 Jan: https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/crews-working-pull-port-authority-bus-pittsburgh-bridge-wreckage/8f57a0e5-6de4-4244-b868-70d565638318/
- Pittsburgh Public Safety closeups: https://www.facebook.com/PittsburghPolice/posts/245522294425903 and https://www.facebook.com/PghPublicSafety/posts/310656024431780
(photos and video by Kate St. John)
I think the skill of heavy equipment operators is amazing. They should be commended for the manner in which they completed such a difficult task.
And they were racing against sunset! Totally awesome!
Great photos. Such amazing work by heavy equipment operators and others involved. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for sharing. I think your coverage was better than the local news, especially showing your half-mile walk on Forbes Avenue. Great job!
Kate, this was so great to see. I loved hearing the little one next to you and his excitement!
Agree enthusiastically with Michael — great professional coverage! Love your “lede,” too (first paragraph during the old newspaper era).
Kate,
It was so nice to chat with you and do a little birding while we waited for this awesome event to unfold! It was just amazing to watch the bus float through the air over the trees! A once in a lifetime (and hopefully never again) experience.
Any idea where they got such a massive crane on site so quickly? I’m thinking those aren’t too common, but maybe I am wrong.
The cranes are from a Pittsburgh company that is one of the best in the industry: Allegheny Crane & Rigging at http://www.alleghenycranerental.com/
Well done, Kate!! You made it real for me.
Thanks for the pictures, video and excellent reporting, Kate. I love that you put “flying squirrel” in the title.