Reassurances in Minneapolis

We all agree... bridges aren't supposed to collapse. The 35W span that collapsed in Minneapolis just shouldn't have; it was being inspected. Well, the inspections were halted during road surface repair, but it was being inspected. Minnesota Department of Transportation chose to do no further repair, only inspections.

We've been told repeatedly that Minnesota's inspection plan is better than that of most states.
That's reassuring.

Both the President and the First Lady came to look at the scene of the tragedy.
That's reassuring.

Rescue and recovery systems that sprung into action after the disaster seem to have worked well.
That's reassuring.

The loss of life could have been much worse.
That's reassuring.

Officials at all levels are determined to find out why this bridge collapsed.
That's reassuring.

President Bush will cut through red tape to help get the bridge replaced.
That's reassuring.

I was feeling nicely reassured, then I saw a report compiled by the Pioneer Press staff (which has covered the disaster much better than it's larger rival StarTribune) "Structurally deficient Twin Cities bridges", compiled from National Inventory of Bridges data. There are 20 or so other area bridges that are less safe than the one that collapsed. Take a look.
That is not reassuring.

If you live in the Twin Cities, I'm sure you've crossed over these bridges many times without thinking about it. You couldn't travel around the area without doing so. One of the listed bridges, the Larpenteur bridge, crosses over Highway 280, which is now packed with traffic diverted around the collapsed 35W bridge. Another one, the 35E bridge at Cayuga St., is a very long 8-lane land bridge that carries even more traffic than the downed bridge, is 2 years older, and is rated lower in sufficiency.

If you live outside the Twin Cities, take no comfort in knowing that the bridges in your area are probably no better, and may well be even less safe.

Retrospection allows us to second-guess what MNDOT did or didn't do about the bridge that collapsed. I doubt that there was any serious inadequacy among MNDOT personnel, even though the overall effort was clearly inadequate. That's often the case within government agencies (and other big organizations). They're too big... too many projects... too many levels of communication... too much power, too much job security... and too political. Government holds a virtual monopoly on streets and highways. They have no competitors that might be able to gain our "business" by doing a better job. They tell us what a fine job they're doing. They have people and budgets for such self-praise. It doesn't make any difference whether we're convinced; we don't have an alternative to trusting them (nor to paying them).

The state has jumped into action. The backlog of highway projects is no longer acceptable. We will not only get the increase in gas tax the legislature wanted (and the governor didn't) but we'll also get the bonding bill the governor wants. Wonder how many new bridges the $450 billion spent on the War in Iraq might have built?

So, government fails to provide safe results to it's customers, customers suffer death, injury, fear, inconvenience, and now the customers will pay more. That is not reassuring, but it is typical of government.

An unnatural disaster in Minneapolis

Wednesday, August 1st, at 6:05 PM, the bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River just east of downtown Minneapolis, completely collapsed, dropping an unknown number of vehicles and passengers some 60 feet into the river and onto surrounding banks. At this time of writing, 4 deaths are confirmed, but that number is certain to rise since some cars were submerged, 20-30 people are missing, and many others are in critical condition.

This major disaster occurred during rush-hour traffic on a major thoroughfare that carried 140,000 vehicles/day. Citizens nearby jumped into action, even before emergency crews, and very quickly the scene was filled with rescuers. I must say that the local responders reacted quickly and effectively, and with considerable coordination. Within a short time, fire, police, and medical forces were in place and organized, along with structural engineers, the Red Cross, and other emergency responders. Homeland Security and the FBI were soon on site, trying to detect possible terrorist causes, and inspection of other bridges began. Alternate traffic routes were quickly designated to replace this key route.

Although construction workers were active on the bridge, it sounds as if their work was only surface, not structural, and that they did not contribute to the failure. No evidence has been found indicating foul play. At this point the collapse seems to have been caused by structural failure.

Reports are that the bridge has been repeatedly inspected, as late as a year before collapse. I've examined a research paper (pdf file) about extensive load testing of the bridge in 2001. Although some problems were identified, fixes were applied. This is a quote from that report:

The bridge, known officially as Bridge 9340, was constructed in 1967, is 581 meters long with 14 spans. While there have been no structural problems with the deck truss, there have been recent problems with the approach spans on both ends of the bridge. In 1997, cracks were discovered in the cross girder at the end of the approach spans.

Reports from people who were near the bridge when it collapsed say that it started buckling from the approach, and recent video camera coverage has revealed that the collapse started from the south end.

While watching coverage of the collapsed bridge, I was intrigued by the twisted steel support structure, covered by mostly intact sections of the concrete roadbed. I was also interested by the nearby 10th Avenue bridge, still standing. I accessed Microsoft's Live Search to get a good look at the two bridges before the collapse.

That's the 8 lanes of 35W on the front bridge, with the 4-lane Cedar Avenue bridge behind it. I'm no engineer, much less a bridge designer, but doesn't the supporting structure of the 35W bridge look positively flimsy? The piers are small, and the steel spans seem relatively frail for the load above.

I decided to pull together similar photos of other bridges across the Mississippi. Of the 16 bridges I looked at, the 35W bridge stands out as the most fragile in appearance. I have to say that, looking at aerial views of all those bridges, I can't be surprised that it was the one bridge doomed to collapse.

It also occurred to me that there are probably more films of the collapse. The local freeway system is covered by a large number of cameras. I'll guess that those films, and/or structural inspections, will decide that the steel members supporting the deck plates tore apart... that the cracks noted and patched for years finally gave way.

Reconstruction may take two years. For many years, and for many reasons, maintenance of highways has suffered here. Gas tax revenue that should have been spent on such maintenance, has been diverted for other projects, such as the ridiculous and horribly expensive resurrection of fixed-rail trains... the so-called light rail.

It may be impolitic to talk of responsibility immediately after a tragedy, but it is not unreasonable. This bridge, the longest in the Twin Cities, the widest river bridge here, carried heavy traffic for 40 years. It collapsed under loads and conditions that were not unusual... in reasonable weather conditions. That naturally leads one to think that this collapse was avoidable. I'll wager that there are current and former MNDOT employees who are furious today, having warned about potential problems and been ignored. Government systems are notorious for subduing uncomfortable truths and silencing employees trying to get the truth aired. There are whistleblower laws in place to protect such employees, but government agencies can bring a lot of pressure to bear.

We're going to hear a lot of political rhetoric, expressing sympathy, praising the systems that respond after an emergency. Politicians at every level will make appearances and pronouncements. The Federal Department of Transportation has already said that the state has responsibility for correcting any problems. There were clearly deficiencies revealed by inspections. Will we ever get a clear picture of why those problems were not sufficiently corrected? Knowing government, I really doubt it. Covering up is one of the few things such systems do very well.

The Emperor's Circus 2008

Throughout my life, I've listened to friends tell how they manage to squeeze through from paycheck to paycheck. I suppose most of us have written checks that would have bounced, but we hope we'll have the funds before the recipient can get the check to the bank. These days, most of us resort to credit cards during tight times, which is why American credit card debt is staggering. Within the past month, I used a credit card to purchase a prescription and to buy groceries. Without the credit card, I would have had to do without both. Naturally, I'll have to cover those charges somehow.

Dealing with unexpected expenses can set most of us back on our heels, at least temporarily. We find ways to cut back... we put off some needed maintenance... we buy cheap goods, knowing we'll have to replace them sooner. Living on the financial "edge", as many do, is a nervous lifestyle, and often a few "bad breaks" in a row can cause a complete financial breakdown... repossession, bankruptcy, even homelessness.

Such things may never have happened to you, and you may feel sure that you're safe. Perhaps you're right, but I've watched as others found their "safe" positions disintegrate, even falling from relatively wealthy positions. If you have any doubt about our vulnerability, talk to any person old enough to remember the Great Depression, when almost no level of assets or investments helped, because there was nobody to sell them to, and you couldn't eat them.

My point is that, as individuals, we're never really free from carefully managing our finances, and we all share the risk of losing what we have. Living among relatively poor people, I see such problems regularly. As Henry David Thoreau described it in his "Walden":

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.

Who is not among that "mass of men"? Who is immune to the variety of setbacks the rest of us face? Who can we point to who have secured themselves beyond almost any threat... who have ensconced themselves in a self-protective cocoon... safe even from having to face their own illegal acts?

Of course I'm talking about our elected representatives in Washington, DC, but we can also include many who aren't elected, but rather appointed by those elected, or given jobs by those elected. Many thousands have hitched their personal wagons to political power, and it makes them relatively immune to the dangers the rest of us face. Even worse, of course, they enjoy their security at our expense.

We could rattle on indefinitely about what such people rake in (as if we could even know what happens under the tables). We understand that when they act unethically or even illegally, they will receive a slap on the wrist, and often end up even more powerful. For the politically-connected, crimes that would put the rest of us in prison will somehow never result in any kind of punishment.

Political Washington (and thousands of other government systems) is a different world from ours. It's a world where performance has no standards, where numbers have no real meaning, and where the concepts of justice, fairness, frugality, legality, and even common sense are mere words to be donned and shown like a new necktie, with no real meaning and certainly no consequences for violation.

Here is just a small example: The political conventions of the Democrats and Republicans have become a nasty joke. They have become the "roman circus", the entertainment spectacles for the staged glorification of all the political Caesars and the minions who hitch their wagons to them. St. Paul will host the 2008 Republican convention, just a bit shy of hosting the Olympics. When it happens, it will dominate the local scene. All media will move to observe and report. Hotels will fill, restaurants and bars will do extraordinary business, traffic will come to a standstill, vendors will proliferate... all to take advantage of the thousands of political hacks arriving to celebrate the coronation of already-chosen candidates.

How will such massive celebrations be financed? Oh... you and I will pay for it. Regardless of where in the U.S. you live, if you are a taxpayer, you will pay for it. Here's the tip of the iceberg:

The U.S. Senate just passed a homeland security bill that will give $50 million in federal money for security at next year's Republican National Convention in St. Paul. To be "fair", it also gives $50 million to Denver for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Naturally, Minnesota Senators Norm Coleman, a Republican, and Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, happen to agree on this one.

They'll pull law enforcement people (government employees all) from across the state to "police" the convention. They'll pay lots of overtime. It'll be a great time for crime in Minnesota... anywhere but around the convention. While the political celebrants get protected, the rest of the citizenry can take their chances. Who will this massive force be protecting against? Mostly against any rabble-rousers among us who dare to protest the massive corruption the convention and the party represents. We can certainly expect anti-war protesters, and we can expect the huge assemblage of jack-booted, well-paid law enforcement thugs to do their duty and keep the protesters from disturbing the celebration. It's a familiar scenario; those in power controlling those who dissent.

$50 million... just for security, and that's just the Federal piece. Can you think of any reason why that cost shouldn't be borne by the Republican Party? Even if you think it should be paid by taxpayers, why taxpayers all over the nation? Why not just the taxpayers of St. Paul? Well... duh... if the city had to pay, no city would want the convention. So... we all pay, for a celebration of power that most of us despise. We all pay, for a party we voted out of control... for that party's President most of us think should be impeached or even be tried for treason.

Millions of us, who hate everything that convention will represent, will pay. We'll watch with disgust at the extravagance we can't afford, and we'll pay. We'll tighten our budgets a little more, feel stomach acid rising... but we'll pay, because we're forced to. Hell... it's only $50 million of complete waste, and what would the taxpayers do with it? We'd undoubtedly splurge on food, clothes, housing, and other stuff of no significance compared to the emperor's circus.

As if to become a bitter addendum to this political charade... yesterday, Treasury Secretary Paulson said the United States may be unable to pay bills this fall unless Congress raises the government's borrowing authority, now capped at $8.965 trillion.