It was not tax cuts, lack of funding, or anything similar that brought that bridge down. It was a slightly faulty design that was adequate under normal circumstances at the time of construction to hold the estimated load, but between pavement that was two inches thicker than it should have been (adding a lot to the load the bridge had to carry) and having 289 tons of construction equipment on it, some of the gusset plates (the large plates used to fasten girders together at joints) in the main span failed, which increased the load on the remaining ones, which then failed and eventually the bridge collapsed.
There wasn't a problem with maintenance, inspections, or any other continuing expense that wasn't met that contributed to this accident.
It was not tax cuts, lack of funding, or anything similar that brought that bridge down. It was a slightly faulty design that was adequate under normal circumstances at the time of construction to hold the estimated load, but between pavement that was two inches thicker than it should have been (adding a lot to the load the bridge had to carry) and having 289 tons of construction equipment on it, some of the gusset plates (the large plates used to fasten girders together at joints) in the main span failed, which increased the load on the remaining ones, which then failed and eventually the bridge collapsed.
ReplyDeleteThere wasn't a problem with maintenance, inspections, or any other continuing expense that wasn't met that contributed to this accident.
The intention of the cartoon is not just about one case, but about the deterioration of our national infrastructure, a reality that is beyond debate.
ReplyDelete