PITTSBURGH -- Just hours after a Pennsylvania bridge collapsed Friday, President Joe Biden -- who was in Pittsburgh to promote his White House achievements -- stared into the cratered muddy earth where the aging span fell.
Standing before concrete barriers papered with yellow police tape, he craned his neck to look out over the gaping expanse, as the smell of natural gas from a nearby severed pipe filled the air.
The bridge collapse offered a striking example of what Biden has declared is an urgent need for investments in the country's infrastructure.
"The idea that we've been so far behind on infrastructure for so many years, it's mind boggling," he said.
As for the rest of the nation's aging bridges, he pledged, "We're gonna fix them all."
The bridge collapse at 6:39 a.m. caused no fatalities, but injured 10 people. Rescuers had to rappel about 150 feet and other first responders formed a human chain to help pull multiple people from a bus precariously perched on the span.
Biden arrived to see the damage at 1:30 p.m.
The steel span was built in 1970, and a 2019 inspection revealed that the deck and superstructure were in poor condition, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Bridge Inventory.
The $1 trillion infrastructure law that Biden signed last year has earmarked about $1.6 billion for Pennsylvania bridge maintenance, with tens of billions more for public transit, highway maintenance and broadband internet expansion in the state.
Speaking later at a manufacturing research and development center, Biden promised that money from the infrastructure law would help rebuild the collapsed Pittsburgh bridge and "thousands of other bridges across the country," and he expressed urgency to get the funding distributed.
"We've got to move," he said. "We don't need headlines that say someone was killed when the next bridge collapses."
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During his remarks, Biden touted strong job growth, particularly in manufacturing, during his first year in office. He spoke further about how his infrastructure law invests in replacing lead pipes, repairing bridges and expanding broadband access, which he said would create jobs for Americans "so nobody's left behind."
Biden also announced that Union Pacific, one of the nation's largest railroads, will make the largest-ever purchase of battery-powered locomotives when it adds 20 of them to its fleet.
Friday's trip marked a return to the president's roots in more ways than one. Biden grew up in Scranton, Pa., and launched his latest presidential campaign in Pittsburgh in 2019. He won that race in part with a direct appeal to working class voters.
His allies hope a return to that message -- and playing up the strength of the economy on his watch -- will help him overcome a polling deficit that Democrats worry could drag down their other candidates in the coming midterm elections.
While at the bridge, Biden spoke with Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and first responders. He was joined by U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb and Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (all Democrats). Fetterman is running for the U.S. Senate this year.
"We're the city of bridges -- and how many are out there?" Fetterman said. "I hope it's a wake-up call to the nation that we have to make these critical infrastructure investments and that people are afforded a safe drive to work."
Friday's trip was an opening stop in a broader campaign for Biden to promote White House achievements in key states before the midterms, and Pennsylvania is one of the top-targeted states this cycle.
The battle to replace Pennsylvania's Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, who is not seeking reelection, is expected to be one of the most competitive Senate races this year.
At least one of the three leading Democrats on Pennsylvania's statewide ballot this spring -- state Attorney General Josh Shapiro -- was invited to appear with Biden on Friday but didn't show up.
Shapiro, who is running for governor, was absent because of scheduling conflicts, according to his spokesperson. Fetterman originally had no plans to attend because of a scheduling conflict, but did appear with Biden at the bridge and later at his speech.
Fetterman said in an interview that he was on his way to the gym when he heard about the collapse and went to the bridge -- still in his gym shorts -- meeting the president, whom he applauded for visiting the site.
The White House asked if he'd like to be with Biden there, and he said, "Absolutely. I'm coming."
Democrats in other states have begun taking modest steps to distance themselves from the first-term president, whose approval ratings have fallen sharply in recent months.
Earlier in the month, Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams, a leading candidate for governor in another swing state, skipped a chance to appear with the president in the state, citing an unspecified scheduling conflict. Last week, Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke said he didn't need the Democratic president's assistance in his campaign for governor.
The White House announced Biden's trip to Pittsburgh on Monday after the president said last week that he would look to get out of Washington more in the second year of his presidency.
Biden, who has seen his poll numbers sink in the midst of an unrelenting pandemic and high inflation, said it was important that he "go out and talk to the public" about what he's accomplished and about why Congress needs to get behind the rest of his domestic agenda.
Information for this article was contributed by Aamer Madhani and Marc Levy of The Associated Press.
President Joe Biden, third from left, stands with a group of officials and first responders behind a barrier to view the damage of a bridge that collapsed, Friday Jan. 28, 2002, in Pittsburgh's East End. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
President Joe Biden visits the site where the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, in Pittsburgh's East End. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
President Joe Biden walks to the motorcade with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, third from right, and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, second from right, at Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin, Penn., Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
In this aerial image taken with a drone, vehicles rest on a bridge following its collapse, Friday Jan. 28, 2022, in Pittsburgh. The bridge spanning a ravine collapsed, requiring rescuers to rappel nearly 150 feet, while others formed a human chain to help rescue multiple people from a dangling bus. The collapse early Friday came hours before President Joe Biden was to visit the city to press for his $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which includes bridge maintenance. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
President Joe Biden returns a salute as he boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. Biden is en route to Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
President Joe Biden visits the site where the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, in Pittsburgh's East End. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
President Joe Biden visits the site where the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, in Pittsburgh's East End. Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey is at left. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
President Joe Biden visits the site where the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, in Pittsburgh's East End. Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, second from right, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, right, look on. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)Gallery: Biden pitches infrastructure program
