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Saturday, August 04, 2007
To be honest, when I first heard about the tragedy, I thought of terrorism. That has been ruled out, which is a relief in a way. However, it's also unsettling: The bridge obviously had structrual problems that hadn't been addressed. The problems were known and yet, nothing was done to rectify the weaknesses. Why not?!
It's really hard to comprehend. You expect things like that to happen in earthquake-prone places, but not in the Midwest! There are so many questions that are begging to be answered. I'm sure authorities will be investigating the scene for months to come.
It's a miracle that more people weren't killed. I'm very relieved that so many were able to make it to safety! As always, the Red Cross was among the first to respond to the tragedy and will be sure to continue providing help and counseling to the survivors. The victims of this accident need all the help they can get!
The incident in Minneapolis has brought the country's infrastructure problems to the forefront and caused U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters to call for an assessment of the national bridge inspection program. At this point, it looks as if the program is woefully inadequate. Check out this article from the St. Paul Pioneer Press for more details: Fatal collapse of I-35W span casts doubt on U.S. bridge ratings.
After hearing about what happened in Minneapolis, I automatically thought of all the bridges we have here locally in the Coastal Bend and wondered how sound they are. Turns out, some of them are in rather poor condition, which is very frightening. One of the bridges that I cross regularly has been deemed "structrually deficient" by the Texas Department of Transportation, which is, of course, very upsetting.
Some worrisome facts: The I-35 bridge was built in 1967 and had a rating of 50 at the time of its collapse. The Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge was built in 1959 and currently has a rating of 57. (Bridges are given a rating from 0 to 100 with anything over 70 considered safe.) The Harbor Bridge is scheduled to be replaced in the next ten years or so, but I know I'll probably think about its soundness every time I cross it now, despite officials' insistence that the bridge is sound.
Labels: corpus christi, Minneapolis
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