It has been nearly two years since Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed and, sadly, the legal jousting continues over what should be a given – full transparency.
The nearly 450-foot city-owned bridge over a Frick Park ravine collapsed on Jan. 28, 2022. Six vehicles, including an articulated Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus, plummeted into the park below.
There were a number of injuries, some serious. At least three lawsuits have been filed. Others are said to be pending. But the city steadfastly has refused to make public reports documenting what appears to have been the city’s negligence in maintaining the span.
And with the two-year statute of limitations about to expire (this coming Jan. 28) the right of other plaintiffs to file fact-based lawsuits could be in jeopardy.
Last week, the Tribune-Review reports, an Allegheny County judge ordered three companies that had worked on the Fern Hollow Bridge to turn over pertinent records for his review.
Consider it a very small victory for transparency. For the simple fact of the matter is that all records pertaining to the structure – whether it be those of the city or those of contractors – are public records and should have been and continue to be fully available to the public.
Public officials’ recalcitrance to make such records available, citing “security issues,” doesn’t wash (as one judge already has admonished) and more than suggest that the culpable are attempting to hide their mistakes and, thus, their liability.
As a matter of sound public policy, such behavior simply is not acceptable. And it must not be tolerated. Not by the public. And certainly not by the judiciary.
But while the judge’s move is laudable, it remains a half-measure. The public’s best interests can only be served with a full, unconditional and unredacted release of all Fern Hollow Bridge reports.
Colin McNickle is communications and marketing director at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).
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