A bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, collapsed on Friday (28), hours before US President Joe Biden visited the city to talk about his administration’s infrastructure projects.
Pittsburgh Public Safety, a body that brings together firefighters, police and other safety agencies, said three slightly injured people were taken to a hospital. Authorities are now checking for casualties under the collapsed building. According to KDKA, a CBS affiliate, seven other people also suffered minor injuries. The city’s mayor, Democrat Ed Gainey, told reporters that the bridge was inspected in September.
The reasons for the fall, which would have occurred around 6 am local time (8 am in BrasÃlia), are still unknown. Pittsburgh Public Safety, however, said there was “a strong smell of natural gas in the area”, which caused authorities to cut off gas supplies and evacuate nearby homes.
More details are expected to be released at a press conference, which has not yet been set.
In photos that circulate on social networks, it is possible to see at least five vehicles at the scene of the accident. One of them, which appears to be a bus, is right next to the cracked edge of the bridge. The meltdown comes on the same day that Biden will visit Pittsburgh to discuss infrastructure as well as supply chains and manufacturing. The White House said the president will proceed with the planned agenda.
As part of his trip, the Democrat will visit a former steel mill turned research and development hub, part of the infrastructure deal passed by Congress in November.
The US$ 1.2 trillion (R$ 6.47 trillion) package, a focus of resistance even within the Democratic Party, is one of the biggest public investment plans in the country in decades. The initiative will allocate resources to modernize roads, bridges, transport, airports, railways and water, energy and internet supply networks. The bet is that the new investments will heat up the economy, generate thousands of jobs and take the country forward in the transition towards a less polluting economy.
The infrastructure plan also foresees US$ 110 billion in new investments in roads, bridges and other road works. Government data indicate that 278,000 km of highways and 45,000 bridges are in poor condition, with problems such as holes in the asphalt, infiltration and rust on structures.
In the area of ​​climate change, the plan foresees US$ 50 billion to combat and prevent droughts and floods, US$ 7.5 billion to expand the electric vehicle charging network and another US$ 5 billion for the purchase of electric school buses. and hybrids. There will also be investments of US$ 66 billion in the rail sector and US$ 39 million in public transport.
The visit to Pennsylvania is also part of a new White House strategy to boost the president’s popularity, now close to 40%, 17 percentage points lower than when he took office, according to Gallup. The state hosted its first campaign event in 2019.
In a press conference on the 19th, the Democrat expressed the desire to “get out of this place more often”, in reference to the White House, seat of the American Executive. “I’m going out and talking to the population. I’m going to hold public events. I’m going to interact with them. I’m going to defend what we’ve already done,” he said.
This Friday, Biden is expected to announce the mark of 367,000 jobs created in the industrial sector since he took office a year ago. The US Commerce Department said on Thursday that the US economy grew 5.7% in 2021, the strongest expansion since 1984 and the first time in 20 years that US economic growth has outpaced that of the Chinese economy.
On the other hand, 7% inflation, a percentage not seen in the country since the 1980s, erodes Americans’ purchasing power and, consequently, the Democrat’s popularity. The White House fears that the decline in support for the president will influence the elections, threatening the party’s slim majority in the Senate.
