In the wake of the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse in Pittsburgh, two officials from the state Department of Transportation answered questions on bridge safety posed by reporters from across the state at a Friday afternoon Zoom meeting.

PennDOT’s Melissa Batula, acting executive deputy secretary, and Mike Keiser, acting deputy secretary for highway administration, answered questions about bridges, their inspections, weight restrictions, repairs and other facts, but could not discuss the fallen Fern Hollow Bridge because the cause of its collapse is under investigation.

Batula said Pennsylvania owns more than 25,400 bridges, which are inspected regularly by PennDOT per federal requirements.

PennDOT is also responsible for the inspection of 6,600 locally-owned bridges that are greater than 20 feet long.

All bridges are deemed to be in good, fair or poor condition in four categories: deck, substructure, superstructure and culvert condition.

Batula said bridges are inspected every two years or more frequently depending on condition.

PennDOT inspects 18,000 bridges per year, Batula said.

The average age of a bridge in Pennsylvania is 50 years old and the life of most bridges is 75 years, she said.

If a component of the bridge is found to be in poor condition, photos and documents are given to structural engineers, who usually calculate a weight restriction for the bridge.

One topic of interest during the online conference with Batula and Keiser was the state’s five remaining “K-frame” bridges.

The collapsed Fern Hollow Bridge was a K-frame bridge.

PennDOT officials announced this week that all five remaining K-frame bridges would be carefully inspected this week. None are in Butler County.

Keiser said the remaining K-frames are in better condition than was the Fern Hollow Bridge and none have a weight restriction.

Batula said the K-frame has two girders, which is fewer than preferred by PennDOT, and are expensive to repair.

“I do not think we are going to be using a K design when we replace the (Fern Hollow Bridge),” she said.

She said the K-frame bridges were used for applications over a ravine, as the hillsides on either side of the bridges helped support the main legs.

Keiser said the K-frames also have an aesthetic component as well.

“It gives the look of an architectural structure without being an architectural structure,” he said.

Another topic was the $4.2 billion diverted from the state gas tax over the past decade to the coffers of the state police.

Batula said state police pull over those exceeding weight restrictions, help keep intoxicated drivers off state roads and highways, and perform other work to keep motorists safe.

“If there were funds that could be found for the state police, those are dollars that could go right back to highways and bridges,” Batula said of the $4.2 billion.

Keiser said almost 400 state and local bridges are now closed across Pennsylvania due to their condition.