We just marked the fifth anniversary of the collapse of the 35W bridge over the Mississippi River. This disaster resulted in 13 deaths and 145 injured. Along with the human tragedy there was also economic damage. Those that normally traveled this bridge now had to find new routes. Commute times increased, trucking costs increased, and MNDOT and the metro area governments all had additional costs. Think of a business that was considering Minnesota as a future site. How many decided not to locate in Minnesota because of this disaster?
I called this a disaster, but it is also a failure of government to do its job. Our expectations in this country are that we can depend on our infrastructure. We realize that in the many parts of the world that is not true, but in America and Minnesota we have higher expectations. I know blame for this bridge failure has been put on under-sized gusset plates, but most of us with engineering experience know that a failure like this has more than one cause. I think most of us would rather believe as we cross a bridge that our lives depend on more than how well the gusset plates were designed. Remember that this bridge had been built and designed by the lowest bidder. Did we get what we paid for?
Besides the gusset plates this bridge was reaching the end of its life, but it was felt that we could get a few more years out of it and not have to raise “taxes.” We hired a firm to study the bridge, and they recommended two plans to ensure continued safe use. One plan would cost several hundred thousand, and one that would cost about 2 million. MNDOT decided on the lower cost plan for budgetary reasons. Our Lieutenant Governor was appointed to head MNDOT to save a salary, but she had no engineering training or experience. Her experience was in keeping transportation spending down as a member of the legislature. Finally a contractor doing road surfacing on the bridge was allowed to overload the bridge with equipment and supplies. I suppose no one checked if the loading would impact bridge integrity because of cost. This was a failure not of one piece, one person, one party, or one governor. This was a failure of our government and us to make sure this bridge and our infrastructure is capable of doing its job.
For years prior to the 35w failure I was aware of numerous news reports on the poor state of our bridges in Minnesota, and the country. I am sure many of you remember the same reports, and we did not do anything about it we left it to our legislators and governors take care of it. Unfortunately they were more worried about “taxes” than our “safety.” After the collapse there was a flurry of activity to repair our bridges, but now five years later the Star Tribune reported there are still 1100 bridges in Minnesota and almost 70,000 nationwide that are “structurally deficient.” Minnesota actually has done better than most states because we increased our gas tax; however our current state senator voted against both the tax increase and the veto override. I am sure she, as a party leader, also helped drive those Republican legislators who voted for the veto override out of the party.
It is up to us if we want infrastructure that we can depend on. It is popular today to attack government as the problem, but read the Preamble to the US Constitution it starts with “We the People” not the government. The power of the United States is that “We the People” are the government, but that means “we” are also responsible when government fails to do its job.
I called this a disaster, but it is also a failure of government to do its job. Our expectations in this country are that we can depend on our infrastructure. We realize that in the many parts of the world that is not true, but in America and Minnesota we have higher expectations. I know blame for this bridge failure has been put on under-sized gusset plates, but most of us with engineering experience know that a failure like this has more than one cause. I think most of us would rather believe as we cross a bridge that our lives depend on more than how well the gusset plates were designed. Remember that this bridge had been built and designed by the lowest bidder. Did we get what we paid for?
Besides the gusset plates this bridge was reaching the end of its life, but it was felt that we could get a few more years out of it and not have to raise “taxes.” We hired a firm to study the bridge, and they recommended two plans to ensure continued safe use. One plan would cost several hundred thousand, and one that would cost about 2 million. MNDOT decided on the lower cost plan for budgetary reasons. Our Lieutenant Governor was appointed to head MNDOT to save a salary, but she had no engineering training or experience. Her experience was in keeping transportation spending down as a member of the legislature. Finally a contractor doing road surfacing on the bridge was allowed to overload the bridge with equipment and supplies. I suppose no one checked if the loading would impact bridge integrity because of cost. This was a failure not of one piece, one person, one party, or one governor. This was a failure of our government and us to make sure this bridge and our infrastructure is capable of doing its job.
For years prior to the 35w failure I was aware of numerous news reports on the poor state of our bridges in Minnesota, and the country. I am sure many of you remember the same reports, and we did not do anything about it we left it to our legislators and governors take care of it. Unfortunately they were more worried about “taxes” than our “safety.” After the collapse there was a flurry of activity to repair our bridges, but now five years later the Star Tribune reported there are still 1100 bridges in Minnesota and almost 70,000 nationwide that are “structurally deficient.” Minnesota actually has done better than most states because we increased our gas tax; however our current state senator voted against both the tax increase and the veto override. I am sure she, as a party leader, also helped drive those Republican legislators who voted for the veto override out of the party.
It is up to us if we want infrastructure that we can depend on. It is popular today to attack government as the problem, but read the Preamble to the US Constitution it starts with “We the People” not the government. The power of the United States is that “We the People” are the government, but that means “we” are also responsible when government fails to do its job.
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