[Speed Gibson,
Saturday August 4, 2007 at 8:57pm]
Different Approaches
As too often happens in such events, there are two different approaches to assessing what happened to the I-35W bridge and what to do next. Generally, but with significant exceptions, these fall along political party lines.
One side seeks facts, the other seeks blame. One side asks "what?" and the other asks "who?" One side seeks to learn from the experience, the other to profit from it. One side seeks new ideas for the future, the other just more from the past, even those known not to work.
Like other such events, this collapse, too, humbles the human race. We are not yet the masters of our fate. Nothing we do is perfect. Nothing we build will last indefinitely, maintained or not. And unanticipated catastrophes will continue to happen, for reasons known and unknown. "A bridge in America just shouldn't fall down," said our new U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar. True enough, they shouldn't, but from time to time, one of them does.
There is no certainty. Every bridge in America has some probability of failure, very small, but never zero. Design, geography, climate, age, maintenance, contractors, building codes, materials, engineers, inspectors, and yes, even politicians are only some of the factors.
The investigations are on. One group seeks facts, perhaps the most important being what the many inspections failed to detect. The other group seeks scalps, to promote and/or protect themselves before the electorate by tearing down others, even the innocent.
We don't know what happened, what could have been done, or what should have been done. It will be months before we do, if ever. One thing we do know today is that the blame game won't build a better bridge next time.
One side seeks facts, the other seeks blame. One side asks "what?" and the other asks "who?" One side seeks to learn from the experience, the other to profit from it. One side seeks new ideas for the future, the other just more from the past, even those known not to work.
Like other such events, this collapse, too, humbles the human race. We are not yet the masters of our fate. Nothing we do is perfect. Nothing we build will last indefinitely, maintained or not. And unanticipated catastrophes will continue to happen, for reasons known and unknown. "A bridge in America just shouldn't fall down," said our new U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar. True enough, they shouldn't, but from time to time, one of them does.
There is no certainty. Every bridge in America has some probability of failure, very small, but never zero. Design, geography, climate, age, maintenance, contractors, building codes, materials, engineers, inspectors, and yes, even politicians are only some of the factors.
The investigations are on. One group seeks facts, perhaps the most important being what the many inspections failed to detect. The other group seeks scalps, to promote and/or protect themselves before the electorate by tearing down others, even the innocent.
We don't know what happened, what could have been done, or what should have been done. It will be months before we do, if ever. One thing we do know today is that the blame game won't build a better bridge next time.