First of all, welcome back! We’re breaking our silence after a multi-year break, and it feels really good to get more podcasts out there.  You’ll probably notice my voice being a bit shaky or such – it’s just from me not having the confidence I once did when posting regularly a few years back.

Today we delve into the I35West bridge that collapsed on August 1st, 2007.  This bridge was the third most popular bridge by volume in the state of Minnesota, and not only did the collapse bring heartache and death, but the after effects are still felt today.  We have a huge number of unsafe bridges and roads in the United States, but not enough money or want to repair them the way they need to be repaired. It may take another high-profile collapse before we get really, really serious about maintaining our infrastructure.

The episode is available in the most popular podcast-hosting places. If you want you can click here to download the episode, or you can listen on the embedded section here:

Sources:

• Wikipedia: I-35W Mississippi River Bridge
• Minnesota Public Radio: America’s infrastructure: 42,000 U.S. bridges are in poor condition
• New York Times: When a Bridge Falls: Disaster in Minneapolis
• American Road & Transportation Builders Association: Bridge Report
• 247 Wall Street: The Most Dangerous Bridges in Every State
• National Transportation Safety Board: Adequacy of the U10 & L11 Gusset Plate Designs for the Minnesota Bridge No. 9340 (I-35W over the Mississippi RIver) – Interim Report