There were hearings in both the House and the Senate in Washington, DC, this week on what to do about America’s aging and often deteriorating bridges.

In the Senate hearing, Minnesota Republican Sen. Norm Coleman set the tone by talking about the Interstate 35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis.

“Madame chairman, most of us in the North Star State will never forget the tragic event that befell our largest city on (Aug. 1) of this year,” Coleman said.

“Just after 6 p.m. on that day the main transportation artery in the heart of Minneapolis, the Interstate 35W bridge, fell into the Mississippi River, as the chairman noted, killing 13 people and injuring more than 100 others.

“The images that began to appear on national news within minutes of the collapse are still too difficult to describe with words, and the panoramic photograph in front of the dias (here today) only begins to outline the magnitude of this disaster’s impact on the Twin Cities and the entire region.”

More than 70,000 of the nation’s bridges are classified as “structurally deficient” and one estimate for fixing all of them is a whopping $188 billion.

Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-VT, told the committee how that bill should not be paid.

“I think the $64 question here, unfortunately, is going to be a lot more than $64 is how we raise the money that we need,” Sanders said.

“I guess the administration is talking about toll roads. Count me in as somebody strongly opposed to that – that is a regressive form of taxation.

“In rural states like Vermont, we have people who make $20,000 to $25,000 a year traveling 100 miles to and from work and I will not support them paying more in tolls. I think Sen. Lautenberg is more appropriate in addressing where we might be able to get some of this enormous amount of money and I think it speaks to not giving tax breaks to billionaires and not fighting an unnecessary war.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters also shared her view of how not to pay for bridge repairs.

She blasted the notion – put forth by U.S. Rep. James Oberstar, D-MN – to raise the fuel tax. Then she reiterated her contention that, despite the I-35 bridge collapse, America’s bridges are safe.

“In the aftermath of this tragedy some are calling for a renewed focus on our nation’s highway infrastructure,” Peters said. “I agree with such calls and applaud people, including Minnesota Senators Paul Brashard and Norm Coleman and other members of this committee who are truly thinking about the long-term viability of the nation’s transportation system.

“It is imperative, however, that when determining what our future transportation system should look like that we actually focus on the right problem.

“Since 1994, the percentage of the nation’s bridges classified as structurally deficient has improved from almost 19 percent to 12 percent and while we can and must do more to improve the quality of our nation’s infrastructure, it would be both irresponsible and inaccurate to say that the nation’s transportation system is anything but safe.”

That testimony, that our bridges are safe, prompted Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-CA, who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, to ask the transportation secretary some pointed questions.

Here’s the exchange straight from the recording:

Boxer: “In your testimony, you stated ‘We do not have a bridge safety crisis.’ That’s what you said – that’s what you wrote. And the Department of Transportation will not put the public at risk because, quote, you ‘would limit the use of a bridge or close a bridge rather than let the public’s safety be put at risk.’

“Now, the people who traveled across the I-35W were put at risk and 13 people died. So what do you tell the American people? You’re making a very clear statement. ‘We would limit the use of the bridge or would close the bridge rather than let the public’s safety be put at risk,’ but you didn’t do that.

“So what are your plans, or do you have any plans, to close other bridges, to limit traffic? How can you say that everything was rosy when 13 people died? I don’t get it.”

Peters: “Chairman Boxer, you make a valid point, and Sen. Klobuchar said the morning after the tragedy occurred, as we stood near the site, that bridges in America should not just fall down and they should not.

“Every bit of data that we had prior to this tragedy indicated that there was not a safety issue with that bridge, and it’s precisely why I’ve asked the inspector general to thoroughly look at our bridge inspection program and how that data is used.

“Chairman Boxer, as I’ve said, we know how that bridge rated. That bridge was rated structurally deficient. It was rated overall poor as Sen. Klobuchar indicated earlier, and it was scheduled for a 4 out of 10 (score). I’m sorry, 4 out of 9.

“In any event, madam chairman, we won’t know what happened there. We have no indication today that it was a lack of inspection or a lack of routine maintenance that caused the collapse. But again, I do not want to speculate about what happened. We need to know.”

Boxer: “When do you think we’ll know?”

Peters: “We will know within a year, according to the NTSB, within a year. But, as I indicated in my written testimony, I am in close contact with (NTSB) Chairman (Mark) Rosenker and NTSB, and when they have given us data that indicated we need to work with an abundance of caution, we have done so.

“I have asked states to re-inspect all similar bridges to this, and I have also asked states to be sure that when they’re doing construction on these bridge to be mindful of the added weight – to calculate the load values. And that’s an issue that the inspector general mentioned. In conducting the inspections, you should also re-calculate the load-carrying capabilities of bridges following these inspections. And that is an area that he mentioned that we are putting emphasis on now today.”

Boxer: “So, as we sit here today, you haven’t taken any action to do what you said you would do in your testimony. You said: ‘We would limit the use of a bridge or close a bridge rather than let the public safety be put at risk.’ And, up to now, you haven’t found any bridge at risk so you have to limit it or close it. Is that correct?”

Peters: “Chairman Boxer, I’m sorry if I misinterpreted it or mis-said that. There are bridges today that are load limited and there are bridges today that have been closed because they did calculate to a point that we had to limit them.”

Boxer: “Can you do me a favor? Could you send me a list of bridges since this horrific tragedy that you have either closed or limited ... I am very interested to know the action you have taken.”

Peters: “Chairman, some of those bridges may have been closed or had their loads limited prior ...”

Boxer: “I’m talking about those since the accident – the tragedy.”

Peters:” Will do.”

– By Reed Black, staff writer
reed_black@landlinemag.com