Several Injured As Pedestrian Bridge Collapse In Washington

Several people have been injured as a pedestrian bridge collapsed in Washington, DC.

Gatekeepers News reports that a pedestrian bridge that was likely struck by at least one vehicle has collapsed onto Interstate 295 in Washington, DC, and left several people injured.

The span collapsed which occurred on Wednesday, at Kenilworth Avenue before Polk Street NE, DC Fire and EMS also blocked the highway in both directions.

Acting Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice, Chris Geldart, said preliminary evidence shows that a collision involving multiple vehicles occurred 10 minutes before noon.

Geldart said the bridge came off its moorings, adding that five people with non-life-threatening injuries have been taken to hospitals.

Mayor Muriel Bowser said, “We don’t have any structural concerns about the bridge. It was last inspected in February”.

On Wednesday night, Geldart issued a statement which stated that WJLA inspected the bridge in February.

According to WJLA, a subsequent inspection report last month concluded that the bridge was “a rating of poor condition (4) – the threshold that prompts the multiyear planning process to replace the bridge.”

WJLA added that officials believe a truck may have struck the bridge before the collapse, noting that recent construction work on the bridge was to address the safety of some of its concrete and did not involve structural issues.

Images posted by DC Fire and EMS and aerial footage from WJLA showed one side of the bridge fell onto I-295 southbound, while the part of the bridge on the northbound side remained mostly attached to an elevated platform.

Mangled concrete and metal debris were sprawled across six lanes of the highway and the bridge rested on top of several vehicles.

DC Fire and EMS said a hazmat unit was on scene mitigating a diesel fuel leak from a truck that is partially beneath the bridge, and at least one other vehicle was struck by debris.

Metropolitan Area Transportation Operations Coordination (MATOC), said all lanes on I-295 were blocked north of Benning Avenue.

MATOC added that Northbound delays stretched about 3 miles, while southbound lanes had delays of approximately 1.5 miles as of 1 p.m. ET.

The Spokesperson Washington Metropolitan Police Department, Alaina Gertz said the department is in the early stages of investigating the collapse.

Geldart while stating it could take through Thursday to get the bridge moved off the highway, added that the bridge will likely need to be replaced but the city needs to inspect the damage first.

Geldart noted that the inspectors are looking at other bridges in the area.