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wantabeana t1_j16m4tk wrote

Now that we all see how quickly things can be rebuilt, penndot has no excuse for not finishing 28

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just_an_ordinary_guy t1_j16spfq wrote

Eh, yes and no. This was built in an emergency because it's a critical link and was entirely unusable. Infrastructure is basically a "pick two" of fast/quality/cost. This bridge was way more expensive than it would've been if it was planned for.

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ididacannonball t1_j17pvrt wrote

Yup and the PennDOT official in the article said as much too. This is not the new normal for PennDOT, it was an emergency.

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stadulevich t1_j16qmak wrote

Highland Park bridge exit just opened up I believe

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duranfan t1_j18gajf wrote

For the moment, yes. Apparently it will close again in a few months so that it can be completely finished. The 28 N side, though, is still all kinds of screwed up, and will be until at least August of 2023.

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enemy_of_your_enema OP t1_j19o9of wrote

From the, ahem, article:

“The time savings was a lot on the front end,” she said, when the agency
and the contractor designed a bridge with “the material that was
available.” She added that Fern Hollow has “a higher factor of safety,”
than it strictly needs; in order to keep the process moving as quickly
as possible, they designed and built with “some conservative engineering
guesses … so we wouldn't have to go back.”

The speed of Fern Hollow’s restoration can not — and will not — become
PennDOT’s new normal, Moon-Sirianni stressed. It was an emergency.

“There’s a lot of folks that work very, very quickly when something is
an emergency,” she said, reeling off as examples PennDOT’s central
office, PennDOT’s bridge specialist and the Federal Highway
Administration. “You can only have so many emergencies.”

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ComprehensiveCat7515 t1_j18mipj wrote

Going to go ahead and say this is the biggest PR success for Build Back Better. Biden comes to the city the day the bridge collapses and can say it was rebuilt before the end of the calendar year.

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his_purple_majesty t1_j15nyj4 wrote

Is it open?

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kaisaline t1_j15t8lv wrote

No.

https://imgur.com/a/S6rMfva

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chrisms150 t1_j16kxii wrote

What the hell is the ribbon for then. The ribbon used to have meaning when I was a kid shakes old fist

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Sufficient_Way4007 t1_j16lvnq wrote

It’s supposed be open at the end of the week. My guess is they moved the ceremony up because of the weather we’re supposed to get later this week

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enemy_of_your_enema OP t1_j19os1p wrote

I'm assuming getting the President, Governor, State Senator, County Executive, Mayor, and PennDOT Director to all attend at the same time might be hard to coordinate precisely with the actual opening of the bridge to traffic.

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chuckie512 t1_j1620eb wrote

They're finishing up the barriers on the side

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geoffh2016 t1_j18tais wrote

I ran along the trail in Frick - seems like they're also moving out the construction equipment.

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James19991 t1_j169aw8 wrote

I guess the Dept of Transportation can build something quickly if they feel like it

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just_an_ordinary_guy t1_j16tkr5 wrote

If the funding is there. This was emergency funding and they paid to make this bridge priority, which includes priority materials from the companies we source that stuff from.

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ididacannonball t1_j17q0jg wrote

They also waived virtually all the permitting and pre-clearance requirements. The project was not even put to competitive bidding, it was just given to whoever someone in PennDOT thought could get it done ASAP. This was not normal in anyway.

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just_an_ordinary_guy t1_j18tt32 wrote

Though I will say that the way they handled it is normal for an emergency. I work in the municipal world, and not doing a competitive bid process is normal for emergency work, in case anyone is wondering. However, it should go without saying, emergency work in and of itself is not normal.

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enemy_of_your_enema OP t1_j19p5m3 wrote

Honest question - did you read the article? Because they explained why this bridge was able to be built so quickly.

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James19991 t1_j19pvkj wrote

https://tenor.com/Kgvz.gif

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enemy_of_your_enema OP t1_j19stqb wrote

Ah, yes, a joke. A joke that is not only not funny, but also looks remarkably like what someone would say if they didn't read the article and didn't understand why this project was expedited.

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James19991 t1_j19ygue wrote

Screw off with your pissy attitude. Apparently a lot of other people got something out of my comment considering it has positive karma, not negative.

0

TheLittleParis t1_j16ydmu wrote

>PennDOT and its contractors built the new bridge in just 11 months, thanks to emergency declarations and procedures that allowed them to bypass a traditional, years-long timeline that includes preliminary design, final design, community engagement, permitting and sending the project out to bid.

Amazing how fast the government can move when it isn't weighed down by useless community meetings and glacial permitting processes. Imagine what the city accomplish if it approached other infrastructure projects in the same way.

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blondiebell t1_j17e80w wrote

With big infrastructure projects its pretty darn important to have some checks in place before the plan is carried out. Especially a measure of community engagement because they should have a voice in something that could change their daily life. What is a bummer is that the checks in place currently are not very streamline and are always ALWAYS underfunded so they can take time to save for and then to continue. Regulations, procedure, and engagement aren't the problem, its funding and priority management.

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TheLittleParis t1_j18osfm wrote

Yeah, I get the reason for it in theory. It just makes me mad when I learn that the Art Commission tried to use community review to hold the construction up for four months just so it matched their personal tastes. Seems so out of touch with the needs of actual residents who just want to get back to their normal commutes as soon as possible.

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blondiebell t1_j18xr1z wrote

That particular committee, sure. They have been accused of over stepping their authority and being far too personal than objective.

Seems we otherwise agree :)

It is unfortunate that so much of our infrastructure is in dire need of repairs, because in a better world we'd be planning big projects far in advance so that we CAN take the time to see every angle and make as many voices on the matter heard. The aesthetic of a bridge or other big structure Should matter, so it's a shame we so often don't give ourselves time to consider it because we just need the work done done done.

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average_waffle t1_j179ju0 wrote

Proof that government can get stuff done when they actually want too

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SystemOfADowneyJr t1_j17bfjg wrote

Does anyone know how the victims of the collapse are doing?

5

LargeAppointment2392 t1_j17sd70 wrote

Kinda crazy this would have been a mass casualty event if it happened during rush hour

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imadv8r2 t1_j17vf89 wrote

Well, one reason is because schools were delayed 2 hours that morning, despite no inclement weather.

−1

ComprehensiveCat7515 t1_j18maal wrote

Wasn't it snowing or bitterly cold? I drove to Philly that morning and remember getting a huge snow storm the following evening; albeit on the other side of the state.

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imadv8r2 t1_j19b3cd wrote

Nope, 25 and clear that morning; partly cloudy later in the day. Light snow didn’t start til later in the week—Sunday.

Source: accuweather, weatherspark, timeanddate, etc.

Begs the question why was there a delay in the first place…

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GargantuanWitch t1_j19ejpx wrote

>Begs the question why was there a delay in the first place…

Stop it.

Bussing has been fucked for the entire school year for some districts, regardless of weather.

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ididacannonball t1_j17pmjd wrote

I had a look at the site from Frick Park last week and it seemed pretty much done, so I'm not surprised that they did this today. It looks pretty good!

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asvictory t1_j19i183 wrote

Anyone know the actual time of opening on Friday? I’d like to get my old route to work back instead of fighting the a-hole drivers on Penn to Braddock

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[deleted] t1_j15p8sy wrote

[deleted]

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enemy_of_your_enema OP t1_j15u40q wrote

The article spent a lot of time explaining that this project moved so fast because it was declared an emergency. Rt. 28 work is not.

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Powdrtostman t1_j16881p wrote

I heard Wolf wants to make it a toll bridge.

−43

GargantuanWitch t1_j19fasz wrote

I heard that your average Yinzer will believe anything they're told, especially when it's some dumb shit that no governor in his last term will ever accomplish, because they don't understand anything that isn't a sandwich.

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Powdrtostman t1_j19wj63 wrote

Funny how many yinzers are this upset over a dumb joke. Didn't realize how soft people in this city really are.

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GargantuanWitch t1_j1aczmd wrote

"I repeated the last thing I read on Facebook and now that I've said it out loud someplace else, I realize how dumb I sound so I better make people think I was joking the whole time before they figure out I'm a corncob."

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Powdrtostman t1_j1bbcjg wrote

What's funny is that you actually believe it was posted somewhere for someone to believe. I threw it out there as a throwaway joke knowing there would be people, such as yourself, that would be so pressed that you just had to comment. Can't smash that downvote button hard enough, can you?

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