Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2022

January 28, 2022

Q. Mr. President, what do you think of the site?

The President. It's incredible. It evenâI mean, this isâfirst of all, these guys deserve an incredible amount of credit going down here. And by the way, while this was going on, they tell me the gas leak wasâexplain what you said to me about the noise.

Pittsburgh Police Department Officer Jeffrey LaBella. It was just a very loudâlike a jet engine. The gas was rushing out.

The President. And you can seeâyou see it coming out of thatâon the other side of the concrete there, this side, up by the crane. And, well, were you worried that thatâthat there had been an explosion or that there had been a collapse?

Ofc. LaBella. We weren't sure whether the gas had caused this or whether the leak was, you know, a result ofââ

The President. Yes.

Ofc. LaBella. ââthe bridge collapse. So we just weren't sure at that time.

The President. How long did it take the company to shut off the gas? Pittsburgh Police Department Officer Tyler Nestler. Probablyââ Ofc. LaBella. I'd say about a half hour.

Ofc. Nestler. Half hour, 45 minutes. So that was just continuing outside of theâout in the

air.

Ofc. LaBella. So there'sâobviously there's another line right here as well.

The President. On this side as well, yes.

Ofc. LaBella. Yes. So that was rushing out. Soââ

The President. And it was probably too early for joggers to be down there.

Ofc. LaBella. There was a few joggers actually. There was a few. One of them actually

helped us get some people out of the cars there. Soââ

The President. Well, I'll be damned.

Ofc. LaBella. Yes. [Laughter]

Pittsburgh Police Department Chaplain Rabbi Elisar Admon. It's a miracle, Mr. President.

It's a miracle.

The President. It really is. It really is. It's astounding.

Q. Mr. Presidentââ

Q. So, Mr. President, what does it sayââ

The President. You all realizeâI've been coming to Pittsburgh a long time and as a former Pennsylvanian. But I didn't realize there are literally more bridges in Pittsburgh than in any other city in the world. Did you know? More than in Venice.

I mean, I knew there are a lot of bridgesâI had no idea that. And we're going toâthey're going to fix them all. Not a joke. This is going to be a gigantic change. And there's 43,000 nationwide. And we're sending the money.

And by the way, we're going to give you guys more money tooâcops.

Ofc. LaBella. Thank you, sir.

Ofc. Nestler. Thank you, sir. We appreciate that.

The President. Thank you.

Q. Mr. Presidentâ[inaudible]âknow what caused the collapse of the bridge at all? Do you have any insight into that?

NOTE: The President spoke at 1:30 p.m. in Frick Park.

Categories: Interviews With the News Media : Exchanges with reporters :: Pittsburgh, PA. Locations: Pittsburgh, PA.

Names: Admon, Elisar; LaBella, Jeffrey; Nestler, Tyler.

Subjects: Communications : News media :: Presidential interviews; Infrastructure, national improvement efforts; Law enforcement and crime : Law enforcement officers, service and dedication; Law enforcement and crime : State and community law enforcement agencies, Federal support; Pennsylvania : Pittsburgh :: Bridge collapse; Pennsylvania : President's visits.

DCPD Number: DCPD202200044.