Minnesota Bridges Crumble From Neglect And Cheap Bolts
294 views · Published 17 December 2007 · 3:49 · Indexed 20 September 2026
Channel: The Uptake by Bridgemakers · 2007 · News & Politics
More at: http://theuptake.org/?p=404 It doesn't matter how many times you report a problem if you don't fix it. That's the basic message from Senator Jim Carlson of the Minnesota Legislature. Carlson, who is also an engineer, is Vice-Chair of the Minnesota Senate Transportation Committee that's investigating the 35W bridge collapse. What he's found is that lack of basic bridge maintenance, such as painting, has led to bridges that are rusting away. He's also found that Minnesota's Department of Transportation is using cheap bolts to do repairs — making the bridges weaker. On top of that, the cheaper bolts don't really save any money because they cost more to install.
