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The Minnesota Daily, Stacy Bengs/AP
Vehicles scattered along the broken remains of Minnesota’s Interstate 35W bridge after
it collapsed on August 1, 2007 (AP)
Vehicles scattered along the broken remains of Minnesota’s Interstate 35W bridge after
it collapsed on August 1, 2007 (AP)
America’s Bridges Need Improvement, Repair
August 01, 2008 10:32 AM
by
Anne Szustek
The one-year anniversary of the Minneapolis highway bridge collapse, along with a new national safety report, highlight the need for billions worth of infrastructure upgrades.
30-Second Summary
On June 28, Pa. Gov. Ed Rendell hosted a press conference in north Philadelphia near the site of the March collapse of a pillar supporting an overpass of Interstate Highway 95, forcing three days of detours and emergency repairs.
“Bridging the Gap,” a report by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials unveiled at the conference, revealed that 152,000 out of the country’s 600,000 bridges—about one in four—are structurally deficient. It will take an estimated $140 billion to repair the bridges to safety standards.
Rendell said at the conference, “We need federal intervention, and federal intervention at a big level.”
Most bridges in the United States are meant to last 50 years without needing any improvements. Most highway overpasses, constructed as part of the interstate highway system, are nearing the half-century mark.
Age notwithstanding, studies suggest structural deficiencies are to blame for an event that brought the issue into national attention.
On August 1, 2007, just north of downtown Minneapolis, a 40-year-old overpass of I-35W collapsed during evening rush hour over the Mississippi River, killing 13 people. After the dust cleared, the nation focused greater attention on the state of bridges, and finger pointing ensued.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are to release findings on the collapse of the overpass over the coming “days and weeks.” The federal board argues that the bridge gave way because the steel gussets could not handle the bridge’s weight. But the report could shed blame on the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
See KYW coverage
“Bridging the Gap,” a report by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials unveiled at the conference, revealed that 152,000 out of the country’s 600,000 bridges—about one in four—are structurally deficient. It will take an estimated $140 billion to repair the bridges to safety standards.
Rendell said at the conference, “We need federal intervention, and federal intervention at a big level.”
Most bridges in the United States are meant to last 50 years without needing any improvements. Most highway overpasses, constructed as part of the interstate highway system, are nearing the half-century mark.
Age notwithstanding, studies suggest structural deficiencies are to blame for an event that brought the issue into national attention.
On August 1, 2007, just north of downtown Minneapolis, a 40-year-old overpass of I-35W collapsed during evening rush hour over the Mississippi River, killing 13 people. After the dust cleared, the nation focused greater attention on the state of bridges, and finger pointing ensued.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are to release findings on the collapse of the overpass over the coming “days and weeks.” The federal board argues that the bridge gave way because the steel gussets could not handle the bridge’s weight. But the report could shed blame on the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
See KYW coverage
Headline Links: Safety of U.S. bridges in question
Pa. Gov. Ed Rendell said at the Monday press conference, “No matter how hard a state applies its efforts and its resources to this problem, it’s never going to make enough of a dent without significantly and radically increased federal help.”
Source: Rochester, Minn. ABC affiliate KAAL (AP)
On July 24, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 367-55 to pass the National Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act, a bill that would allocate an extra $1 billion to repair structurally unsound bridges. The bill would also require that states certify that all interstate highway overpasses in their jurisdiction are safe before funds can be spent on other transportation infrastructure.
Source: Minneapolis-St. Paul Fox affiliate KMSP
Video: Footage of the I-35W bridge collapse
MSN Video has footage of the Aug. 1, 2007, collapse of a portion of Interstate Highway 35W into the Mississippi River north of downtown Minneapolis.
Source: MSN Video
Tim Sherno, a reporter for Twin Cities ABC station KSTP, recalls his initial reaction to the bridge collapse. “It looked like a twisted black ribbon, like a banner that had been laid across the river. That was the first impression. After a few moments the magnitude of the collapse was clear. The fire and the smoke, the flashing lights and the sound of sirens. It was a disaster scene.”
Source: Minneapolis-St. Paul ABC affiliate KSTP
Background: The Minneapolis bridge collapse
Mark Rosenker, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, “has not ruled out the possibility” that the Minnesota Department of Transportation failed to respond accordingly to pictures taken in 1999 showing warped and bowed gussets on the I-35W overpass. “Should that be a signal or a symptom of an upcoming catastrophe? We don't know yet, but that’s being analyzed as we speak,” Rosenker said.
Source: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune (free registration may be required)
The Science Museum of Minnesota has a site dedicated to the physics behind the bridge collapse, as well as statistics about the erstwhile bridge itself. There are at least three other bridges spanning rivers in Minnesota that have the same design as the collapsed highway overpass. One traverses the Mississippi near the small town of Sandstone, near Duluth; another crosses the same river in Saint Cloud; and another connects Minnesota to Osceola, Wis., over the Saint Croix River.
Source: Science Museum of Minnesota
The Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune keeps a running tribute to the 13 people who died in the collapse, including video, photographs and updates on the victims’ families. The paper identified the drivers and passengers of 78 of the 84 cars on the bridge at the time of the collapse. Users can click on the photo to listen to the passengers’ stories.
Source: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune (free registration may be required)
Related Topic: ‘Army Corps Admits to Knowing Little of Levees’
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced in May that it does not know the condition of thousands of the nation’s levees, some areas’ only defense against floods.
Source: findingDulcinea
Reference: Government infrastructure spending
A graph compiled by Data 360 shows government spending on infrastructure accounted for less than 2 percent of GDP for the 1980s and 1990s.
Source: Data 360
© 2009 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
