The fatal bridge collapse in Minneapolis/St. Paul is a gripping reminder that aging infrastrucutre can cost lives. The bridge was under repair at the time of the collapse, but not to repair the fatigue noted in a 2001 report.

A 2001 evaluation of the bridge, prepared for the state transportation department by the University of Minnesota Civil Engineering Department, reported that there were preliminary signs of fatigue on the steel truss section under the roadway but no cracking.

It said there was no need for the transportation department to replace the bridge because of fatigue cracking.

Which makes Governor Rell’s June 27 order more prescient.

Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced she has ordered the Department of Transportation (DOT) to inspect all bridges in the state on a two-year cycle, noting that the agency will be receiving an influx of engineering inspector positions approved in the new state budget that takes effect July 1.

For the last nine years bridges that have been rated in “fair” condition or better have been inspected on a four-year cycle rather than a two-year cycle, a move that had been approved by the Federal Highway Administration.

“Given the sweeping cultural and organizational changes I am making at DOT, this is a time when we should re-commit ourselves to safety and increase our commitment to bridge inspections,” Governor Rell said. “We all share an understandable concern about bridge safety, given not only the historic tragedy of the Mianus River Bridge collapse but the overall age of the highway network in our state and the volume it carries.”

“At the same time, the new state budget which goes into effect on Sunday provides for 81 new engineering inspection positions at DOT,” the Governor said. “While these new inspectors will have a wide range of projects and duties that will need their attention, bridge inspections will be included on that list of responsibilities.”

DOT’s decision to inspect certain bridges every four years rather than two was approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in 1998. Connecticut presently has 1,144 bridges on the four-year inspection frequency out of 5,014 bridges — roughly one in five. 3,870 bridges are already inspected every two years. The 5,014 bridges include 3,777 State-maintained and 1,237 Town-maintained bridges.

But is the CT DOT up to the task? And what about the aging, and obviously rusting Merritt Parkway bridges?

The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that $1.6 trillion is needed over a five-year period to modernize the nation’s water systems, dams, runways, roads and bridges but that only about $1 trillion is being invested.

Atlanta is spending $3.9 billion on an overhaul of drinking water and wastewater systems that will stretch into 2014. The city has raised water and sewer rates an average of 10% a year, making them some of the nation’s highest.

“What we’re doing in Atlanta right now is going to be replicated around the country,” says Janet Ward, spokeswoman for Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management. “We’re really teetering on the brink. The older cities are going to feel the effect first and the funding is just not there.”

The U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Urban Water Council says preliminary results of a 330-city survey to be released this year show that more than half reported up to 50 water main breaks annually. Many cities don’t have the money to upgrade their systems and are getting little federal help, says Leslie Wollack, principal legislative counsel for the National League of Cities.

Connecticut has had its history of infrastructure problems. The Mianus river bridge collapse was an early wake up call, but the recent fiasco with I-84 work should give pause to us all. Putting more money into transportation has not yielded the results we should expect. Governor Rell choose to appoint a large consulting firm to overhaul the culture of the CT DOT.

Um, I have problems with huge consulting firms “examining and redesigning the DOT, its mission, direction, business practices and organizational structure.” Huge consulting firms are not engaged in the business of designing, maintaining and repairing huge transportation projects. J.R. Knowles is a bunch of lawyers that specialize in settling construction disputes. Ok, there’s a mess of litigation going on, but that all stems from the incompetence of the DOT management team, who have for years managed to bungle every construction project going on in the state. You don’t need a consulting agency to tell you that. There’s only one action that needs to be done, and that is for the bad managers to be shown the door, and new managers with no ties to the construction companies used by the DOT to come in and manage.

In March of this year, Rell appointed a 25 year career State Police administrator to head the CT DOT. I’m not so sure that our safety from an engineering standpoint is under good hands. Rell has got to do better.

source:, New York Times, Bridge Collapse in Minneapolis Kills at Least 7, By LIBBY SANDER and SUSAN SAULNY
Published: August 2, 2007

source:,USA Today Cities struggle to fix aging infrastructure, By Charisse Jones and Haya El Nasser
Published: July 19, 2007