Officials: Frick Park bridge not bad enough to close after inspection

The bridge that collapsed in Pittsburgh’s Frick Park last week showed deterioration during a September inspection that was not bad enough to require its closure, PennDOT said Monday.

The agency will not release the full inspection report, PennDOT spokesperson Alexis Campbell said, citing state and federal laws and the ongoing investigation into the Friday morning failure of the Forbes Avenue bridge over Fern Hollow Creek.

Campbell provided some details about the inspection four months ago, including that there has been a 26-ton posted weight limit on the bridge since 2014.

As with previous inspections, the Sept. 29 examination rated the steel K-frame bridge a 4 on a scale from 0 to 9, which is deemed a poor rating.

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“This bridge’s design relies on the quality of frame elements alone without any back-up support (known as redundancy) and reports show deterioration that did not warrant closure, but supported the imposition of a posted weight limit to restrict the weight of loads,” Campbell said in an email.

The structure, built five decades ago, is one of six bridges with similar designs in the state. Campbell said the reasons it failed and collapsed remain unclear and are the subject of investigations.