Pittsburgh offers $500,000 to settle bridge collapse lawsuits

The city of Pittsburgh is seeking approval for a half-million-dollar settlement to settle lawsuits stemming from the collapse of a bridge into a ravine more than 2 1/2 years ago.

Vice Mayor Jake Pawlak said Friday he has asked the Pittsburgh City Council to authorize a payment of $500,000, the total damages cap, to settle lawsuits filed on behalf of those who were on the city-owned Forbes Avenue Bridge when it collapsed. fell on January 28, 2022, throwing a bus and four cars about 100 feet (30 meters) into Fern Hollow Creek. Another vehicle went off the east bridge abutment and landed on its roof. They were injured, but no one died.

The settlement requires approval from the board and a judge overseeing the case.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said the action came as a surprise, but that they appreciated the city “accepting responsibility for allowing one of its bridges to collapse and agreeing to pay its statutory limits to partially resolve this case.” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Legal action against three engineering firms will continue, they said.

Federal investigators said the city failed to adequately maintain or repair the bridge and failed to act on inspection reports, leading to corrosion of the structure’s steel legs. City officials did not dispute the findings and cited the creation of a new bridge maintenance division and a tripling of funding for maintenance and repairs.

A new bridge at the site 5 miles (8 kilometers) east of downtown Pittsburgh opened in December 2022.

PHOTO; Vehicles on a bridge when it collapsed are seen Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, in Pittsburgh’s East End. When the bridge collapsed, rescuers abseiled nearly 150 feet while others formed a human chain to help rescue several people from a dangling bus. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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