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Much of it 40 years old
We suffered
another national disaster on Wednesday. Although the bridge
collapsed in Minnesota, it put the whole nation on alert. Many
former residents from this area now live in Minneapolis.
Initial relief came when a couple of immediate phone calls
informed me that none of my family members were involved. The
second relief came after it was announced that no act of terrorism
was suspected. Hopefully this was just a freak accident. The cause
is still to be determined.
While it may have been disappointing to the major television
stations, it was good to learn of the low casualty rate for this
type of catastrophe. It was also good to witness the immediate and
appropriate response by the emergency agencies and civilians.
Trying to grasp what the survivors, and the family members of those
unaccounted for, must be going through was impossible.
With the volume up on the television, it was very difficult to
deal with your own shock. The pictures alone were troubling.
Knowing there was nothing you could do but gawk at the screen like a
commuter rubbernecking a fender bender in rush hour, it’s what many
of us did. We looked at the graphic photos. We listened to witness
reports. We prayed.
After a few hours of not finding any one particular person or
group to blame, the media went in search of other ways to scare us.
How many of the over 500,000 bridges in America are unsafe? Could
this happen in your area? What bridge is next?
It didn’t take long for bridge experts to appear on every
channel. Frightening numbers like more than 70,000 bridges across
the country have been designated “fatigued” or “structurally
deficient.” To inspect and repair the nation’s most critical
bridges, it would cost more than an estimated $20 billion dollars.
That seems like a big chunk of money, but it is not when you compare
it to the $2 billion per week we have been spending in Iraq for the
last five years.
We know the bridge will be repaired in quick fashion. First
Lady Laura Bush went to view the area. President Bush was scheduled
to make an appearance Saturday. After all, this was Minneapolis,
not New Orleans.
During this whole thing, I kept thinking former Governor George
Ryan must have been a visionary. During his term as governor, he
made sure our city’s four bridges were replaced or repaired.
Some good could result from this disaster. It’s possible that
our national leaders will realize that 40 year-old things break
down. Our nation’s infrastructure is very old. Our roads, bridges,
dams, and school systems are old. They were built for a population
less than 1/2 of our current 300 million. However, I don’t want the
current presidential candidates to capitalize on this disaster and
put American bridge repair at the top of their agenda. I want them
have a plan to halt the spending for repeated destruction and
reconstruction of Iraq’s infrastructure, and to put an end to the
loss of American lives.
It seems in this country, the only major structures that get
replaced on a regular basis are sports facilities and gambling
casinos. Major league sports teams are always asking for new
stadiums and getting them. A record number of famous Las Vegas
hotels and casinos have been replaced.
At last report, less than ten people were dead as a result of
the bridge collapse in Minnesota. During the same period, a few
more Americans have died in Iraq. But, I guess we’re used to that
old news, and sadly, it’s not a shock anymore. |
