Pittsburgh proposes a $500,000 payment to settle bridge collapse lawsuits

PITTSBURGH — The city of Pittsburgh is trying to get approval for a half-million dollar payment to settle lawsuits over the collapse of a bridge in a ravine more than 2 1/2 years ago.

Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak said Friday that he has asked the Pittsburgh City Council to authorize a payment of $500,000, the full liability amount, to settle lawsuits filed on behalf of those who were on the city’s Forbes Avenue Bridge when it collapsed on Jan. 28, 2022, sending a bus and four cars about 100 feet (30 meters) into Fern Hollow Creek. Another vehicle drove off the bridge’s eastern pier and landed on its roof. There were injuries, but no deaths.

The agreement must be approved by the council and by a judge overseeing the case.

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

Federal investigators have said the city failed to properly maintain or repair the bridge and failed to take action on inspection reportswhich leads to corrosion of the steel legs of the structureCity officials did not dispute the findings, citing the creation of a new bridge maintenance department and a tripling of funding for maintenance and repairs.

A new bridge at the location 5 miles east of downtown Pittsburgh, opening in December 2022.