Biden visits Pittsburgh bridge collapse, vows more U.S. investment
By Andrea Shalal and
Visibly moved, Biden gazed across a ravine over the buckled
sections of the half-century-old
"The idea that we have been so far behind on infrastructure, for so many years -- it's just mind-boggling," the president told them.
One emergency worker described the scene after the collapse as loud as a jet engine. Biden praised the work of rescuers, noting a natural gas leak that was not stopped until some 30 minutes after first responders arrived at the scene.
Rescuers rappelled at least 150 feet (46 meters) into
"They helped the firefighters that were here initially on scene, also did like a daisy chain, with hands just grabbing people and pulling them up," Jones said.
Ten people suffered minor injuries, including four who were taken to the hospital, city officials said. Jones added that crews would search under the bridge for any victims.
The incident was a high-profile example of the need to
rebuild the nation's aging bridges, highways and other
infrastructure with money from
Images of the collapse showed the four-lane span buckled into three large sections, with several vehicles piled in the rubble of the collapsed roadway at the bottom of the ravine. The tail end of a long, red city bus appeared trapped by the rubble.
The massive gas leak caused by the collapse forced the evacuation of several families from their homes before being brought under control, Jones said.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to the site.
The collapse came just two weeks after
Biden said he was astonished to learn
ECONOMIC GROWTH JUMPS
Biden, whose approval ratings have fallen in recent months amid a surge in the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, got a boost on Thursday when the Commerce Department reported the U.S. economy grew the fastest https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-economy-regained-speed-q4-2021-growth-best-since-1984-2022-01-27 in nearly four decades in 2021.
Economists say Biden-backed fiscal stimulus, including the
In
"Making it in America is what built this city, the steel
city," he said.
The Democratic president was returning to the site of his first major campaign event in 2019 and his first stop after he was inaugurated. The state is a crucial battleground for Democrats to retain control of the Senate in the 2022 midterms.
He touted the creation of 6.4 million jobs and 367,000 manufacturing jobs since he took office a year ago, and the passage of the infrastructure bill -- a rare bipartisan victory in a deeply divided Congress.
"It takes a federal government that doesn't just give lip service" to buying American, he said. "Now we're beginning to see the results."
In recent days, General Motors Co (GM) has said it would
invest
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal,