The year 2022 began with Pittsburgh making national headlines as the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed in the city’s Frick Park. It ended with the death of beloved NFL Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris.

Throughout the year, Pittsburgh would see several other major headlines, including the completion of a new Fern Hollow Bridge, an rampant gun violence and a new name for the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Here are some of the top stories the Tribune-Review covered in Pittsburgh in 2022:

Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed — and was rebuilt

Ten people were injured Jan. 28 when the Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh’s Frick Park collapsed, sending a Port Authority bus and several vehicles into a ravine. President Joe Biden joined local officials to tour the site the day of the collapse and subsequently dedicated $25.3 million from his federal infrastructure bill to rebuild the downed span.

The president in October again visited the span to survey reconstruction progress.

Thanks to the federal funding and emergency declarations aimed at allowing work to progress rapidly, the bridge was reconstructed in under a year.

Officials cut the ribbon on the new Fern Hollow Bridge in December, and it reopened to traffic before Christmas.

The collapse caused many to worry about the state of local bridges. Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey promised to launch a bridge asset management program and commissioned a study that highlighted the need for additional repairs and maintenance for the city’s bridges.

Easter morning shooting killed 2, injured 8 in North Side Airbnb

Two teenage boys were killed and eight other people were injured in an early morning shooting on Easter Sunday at a party inside a North Side Airbnb.

Officials said about 200 people, many underage, were at a party at the rental property when gunshots erupted.

Police said an officer had been called to the party for a noise complaint about about 90 minutes before the shooting broke out. The officer said he saw nothing to indicate that trouble was brewing.

A woman who was shot during the incident later filed a lawsuit against Airbnb and the property owners.

Pittsburgh City Council has since been mulling legislation that would regulate Airbnb properties in the wake of the deadly shooting.

2 innocent bystanders killed in North Side; funeral of 3rd victim cut short by shooting

Two innocent women — Jacquelyn Mehalic and Betty J. Averytt — were among three people killed when gunfire broke out in October near Allegheny Commons in Pittsburgh’s North Side.

Residents said they were fed up with the violence, and police arrested two men in connection with the shooting the next month.

A funeral at Destiny of Faith Church in Brighton Heights for the third victim was interrupted by violence when five people were shot outside the church during the funeral.

Pittsburgh police said their protection had been requested at the funeral, but officers weren’t there when the violence erupted.

Residents, business owners voiced concerns about increased violence in South Side

The nightlife entertainment district in Pittsburgh’s South Side saw a string of violence this year that startled many residents and business owners.

Gainey and other local leaders met with residents and other stakeholders in an effort to collaborate on solutions to address the rash of shootings in the area. Gainey on one weekend night visited the problematic stretch of East Carson Street, where he also had increased police patrols in an effort to curb the violence.

One local business, Fudge Farm, shuttered its East Carson Street location after a shooting occurred outside the storefront.

Midterm elections a success for local Democrats

Democrats had a strong performance in the area during this year’s midterm elections.

Democrat Josh Shapiro, currently the commonwealth’s attorney general, was elected as Pennsylvania’s next governor.

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman defeated celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz to flip a GOP-held seat for the Democrats in the U.S. Senate. His win came after suffering a stroke during his campaign.

State Rep. Summer Lee, also a Democrat, won her bid for Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District and is poised to become the commonwealth’s first Black congresswoman.

Iraq War veteran and voting rights attorney Chris Deluzio won Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District for the Democratic party.

His Republican opponent, Jeremy Shaffer, joined other local GOP leaders in calling for broader Republican support of mail-in ballots after the party’s poor midterm performance was perhaps hampered by their refusal to embrace mail-in voting.

Pittsburgh grapples with homelessness problem

Pittsburgh leaders have tried to find solutions to help the city’s homeless population amid what many have called an affordable housing crisis. Council President Theresa Kail-Smith has suggested building tiny homes, and city leaders are exploring limited-equity housing cooperatives and accessory dwelling units as potential ways to boost affordable housing stock in the city.

With many offices largely empty since the pandemic sparked a shift to remote work, officials also are looking to convert unused Downtown office spaces into residential units.

A new year-round homeless shelter, dubbed Second Avenue Commons, opened Downtown in November and filled to capacity in about a week. Overflow beds were set up in the cafeteria in an effort to accommodate more people.

Pittsburgh officials tore down a homeless encampment under the 10th Street Bypass in November, a move that was needed to clean and secure an unsafe area, according to Gainey’s administration. Earlier this month, the city shut down an encampment on the city’s North Side.

Heinz Field was renamed Acrisure Stadium

The home of the Pittsburgh Steelers got a new name this year.

The venue that had been named Heinz Field since 2001 is now known as Acrisure Stadium — though many Steelers fans voiced displeasure with the name change and vowed to continue referring to the stadium as Heinz Field.

The oversized ketchup bottles that adorned the scoreboard at the field were taken down when the stadium was renamed. One of the bottles, however, will be displayed elsewhere within the stadium, thanks to a sponsorship deal between Kraft Heinz and the Steelers.

Steelers great Franco Harris dies just before 50th anniversary of Immaculate Reception

Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco Harris died at age 72 days before the 50th anniversary of his famed immaculate reception.

The Hall of Fame running back was honored during festivities celebrating the Immaculate Reception anniversary at a Steelers game on Christmas Eve. Harris’ number was retired and his family joined his former teammates on the field of Acrisure Stadium while fans chanted his name.

The team rallied past the Las Vegas Raiders to honor Harris’ memory with a win.

Harris was remembered as a man who became a larger-than-life sports hero, a popular citizen and a constant figure in local charity work. His family said he represented “what is best in humanity,” and fans flocked to the immaculate reception marker in Pittsburgh’s North Shore and the Harris statue at Pittsburgh International Airport to pay their respects.

Tree of Life synagogue unveiled plans to create memorial, museum, worship space

Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill neighborhood this year announced its renovated site will include a memorial, museum, worship space and institute aimed at antisemitism.

The space has sat empty since the 2018 attack that killed 11 people across the congregations — Tree of Life, New Light and Dor Hadash.

Judah Samet, who survived both the Tree of Life shooting and the Bergen-Belsen Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust, died this year at age 84.

Samet spent years speaking at schools and various events about his experience in the Holocaust to ensure people remembered what had happened.

The Pittsburgh community gathered in Schenley Park to remember the lives lost in the Tree of Life attack on the fourth anniversary of the massacre.

Ukranians in Pittsburgh watched their country ravished by war

Pittsburgh residents with ties to Ukraine watched what unfolded in their native land as Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked the neighboring country.

University of Pittsburgh professor Tymofiy Mylovanov — who splits his time between Pittsburgh and Ukraine, where he is president of the Kyiv School of Economics and an advisor to Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — has called on the United States to provide weapons, funds and training to Ukraine.

Some Ukrainian refugees settled in the Pittsburgh area to get away from the violence in Ukraine. Ukrainian immigrants have settled in Western Pennsylvania for generations.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)