Corrosion, fatigue cracking and a dismembered bridge rotting like a corpse in the Mississippi River. The evidence on what caused the collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis was starting to breathe on its own as August was reaching its halfway mark.
So I guess I will be the first to sharpen the nail of my blame-pointing finger and lock it on the responsible party.
OK, here goes. I might have been able to prevent the sudden release of steel and concrete that left 13 confirmed dead on Aug. 1. As a member of the media, more could have been done on the I-35W bridge—and many others just like it—to yell “fire” on an infrastructure system that is slowly dying from material osteoporosis. There should have been more front-page stories tossed on doorsteps, more special investigative reports flashing inside family rooms across the country.
Now that I have thrown myself in front of a bus, I think it is only appropriate for someone else to step in front of me and share the hit. There are certainly enough to form a reputable bus stop.
The Minnesota DOT (Mn/DOT) should be the first one to yank this journalist to the back of the hit line. Mn/DOT documented stress and rust points on the I-35W for years. Measures could have been taken to prevent the fatal fall, but for some reason the agency pulled the hard hat down over its eyes. When asked why more technology wasn’t used on the structure, Mn/DOT said it would have taken hundreds of sensors to adequately wire the bridge—but “money was no object.” So what was the factor throwing up blocks? Manpower? The structure itself? If money was no object, surely something more than the aging eyesight of an inspector could have been used.
The contractor should be strapped to this professional suicide pact as well. Progressive Contractors Inc., which was executing a resurfacing job at the time of the accident, was instantly removed from the room of ridicule by Minnesota officials who said bridge work was done hours prior to the collapse. This pass was granted even though witnesses on the bridge claimed to hear jackhammering followed by heavy vibrations just moments before the tragedy. A day later it was revealed that heavy equipment and work may have been contributors.
Then you have the federal and state inspectors. There were supposed to be plenty on or around the site, so why were so many possible hints of danger tucked in a pocket of negligence?
And, finally, more federal funding might have been able to prevent the sudden release of steel and concrete that left 13 confirmed dead on Aug. 1. In the months leading up to the signing of SAFETEA-LU, industry advocates like myself cut off circulation in our hands begging and pleading for more funding than the proposed $284 billion. George W. Bush, however, pulled the crown down over his eyes and ears and ignored all reports of a failing infrastructure.
So instead of acting like a group of kids scrambling away after hitting a baseball through a window, we should ask ourselves what more could have been done to prevent this senseless loss of life. However, sometimes integrity suffers from paralysis. I would have liked to see someone—anyone—cautiously tap the press conference mic after the collapse and say, “We may have been able to do something.” Instead, most are barricading themselves in denial and silence, waiting for a standoff with investigators or the public.
Perhaps the rotting extends well beyond bridges in this country.
