Bridge talk

Whenever news about the Minnesota bridge collapse comes up, I can't help but wonder: when it comes to maintaining our bridges, are we doing a good enough job? Or are we cutting corners in an attempt to tell the public that our bridges are in tip-top shape when in reality they aren't? Or have we just fallen asleep on the whole matter altogether?

Right here in Indiana, I feel that we're doing a pretty awesome job in seeing to it that our bridges are maintained & kept in sufficient shape & if we know of bridges which have structural issues which may render them a danger to motorists & pedestrians alike, we're informing folks ASAP that they may be closed indefinitely for the necessary repairs. When it comes to the safety of others, notifying us of bridge closings/repairs is a must; not only that, it shows that we do care about safety first & foremost.

What can I say about the rest of the US in terms of how we upkeep our bridges? I'm not so sure. But the last time that I checked, the overall assessment didn't look very promising. I mean, for our DOTs (or Departments of Transportation) to go to sleep on bridge maintenance is downright inexcusable. The Minneapolis bridge disaster could easily have been avoided if folks took the time & wherewithal to diagnose the structural issues & repair that bridge accordingly. Not to be bitter, far from it; but to be honest, when it comes to keeping our bridges in awesome shape, the rest of the States are woefully lagging behind. And that's truly distressing.

Another issue to take note of is people who choose not to comply with weight restrictions on certain bridges; this, too, is a great way to cause those specific bridges to collapse/get torn out of whack/have structural issues which make it unsafe for any use whatsoever. I mean, if you're going to cross a bridge which has a weight limit of 8 tons, you don't want to drive a semi or 18-wheeler across that thing; some people have forgotten to do the math, it seems. And they wonder why certain bridges have been lost or doomed to the elements (i.e. abandoned). If only these weight restrictions were followed to a T, these issues wouldn't have to be reiterated time & time again. But unfortunately they must be; otherwise such needless incidents wouldn't keep occurring.

It doesn't take a genius to find out when a bridge has something amiss, it either a) needs to be replaced or at the least b) repaired properly to ensure a high sufficiency rating. These two solutions are the mark of DOTs who know the task at hand & how to get their bridge work done right & in line with regulations. Those DOTs who haven't gotten the info are the reason why we've gotten such an awful assessment when it comes to our bridges in general.