The bridge collapse May 23 in Washington state serves as a stark reminder that our nation’s aging transportation infrastructure is approaching a critical point.

On that evening, the crucial Interstate 5 bridge — a main artery between Washington state and Canada — collapsed after a truck hauling an oversized load hit an overhead girder, sending a section of the highway into the river below. Fortunately, only two vehicles plunged into the river and the occupants were safely rescued with no loss of life.

Though much less serious, the situation is eerily reminiscent of the 2007 Interstate 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, which killed 13 people and injured more than 140 when it buckled and collapsed during rush hour.

But the problem exists here as well.

A 2011 report released by a group called Transportation for America listed more than 1,000 bridges across the state that are rated “structurally deficient.” That translates to nearly 1 in every 10 bridges in Minnesota, and means that about 2 million people cross structurally deficient bridges statewide every day. That’s a lot of opportunities for tragedy.

Here in Steele County — home to 128 bridges — the report cited seven bridges as structurally deficient.

Though the I-5 bridge, constructed in 1955, was not classified as structurally deficient, it was classified as functionally obsolete, meaning that the design is outdated.

Of course, it’s not just bridges that are in need of repair. Roads and highways can also be structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. The stretch of Highway 14 between Owatonna and Dodge Center comes to mind.

We hope that the near tragedy in Washington serves as a wake-up call to legislators across the nation and spurs them to address an ever-worsening problem that is putting lives in jeopardy on a daily basis. Yes, maintaining our transportation infrastructure will take funding — funding that is increasingly hard to come by in today’s economic climate. But, when public safety is at risk, investing in infrastructure seems to be a much more reasonable use of taxpayer dollars than some of the boondoggles that our state leaders have opted to fund.

— Owatonna People’s Press, May 24

 

Editor’s note: Freeborn County is home to 141 bridges, of which six were listed as structurally deficient in the 2011 report from Transportation for America. When ranked by percentage, as was done in the study, Freeborn County was among the 20 best counties in the state for the status of its bridges.