Minneapolis Bridge Collapse

Minneapolis Bridge Collapse

In the recent past, bridges have become a major threat to the users. As a result, the participants and other users of the transport system have increased their concern about issues that relate to the safety, and the inadequate system capacity. From the article “Infrastructure in Crisis”, the Civil Engineering Department gave a report concerning the deficient bridges, and lack of maintenance to these bridges. This provides a basis for my opinion where I believe that, the current bridges are not safe to travel. It is important for government to develop appropriate strategies aimed at increasing the safety of the citizens. This process should involve identification and repair of bridges that are not in good condition for safety purposes.

Due to the heavy trucks on the highways, roads tend to develop weak points which later develop and become cracks. Increase of such cracks can easily make bridges to collapse. Based on this fact, companies should not push for states to allow heavier and heavier loads to travel the highways. Instead, companies should adopt alternative methods of transport such as water or rail transport. The use of trucks on highways can increase bridge congestion and make them to weaken eventually increasing the chances of bridge collapse.

The government has been reluctant in informing or communicating to citizens about unsafe bridges. However, it is worthy to mention that the government has tried to increase the safety of its citizens through legislations that define the type of vehicles that should use or avoid using a given bridge for safety purposes. For the case of the Mississippi Bridge, the government should have informed the public about the weakness that the bridge had, and the black ice that increased congestion on the bridge.

 

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