| COLUMBIA, MO - The collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in downtown Minneapolis recently brought the structural safety of the nation's aging overpasses into tragic focus. University of Missouri-Columbia civil engineer and assistant professosr Glenn Washer believes the catastrophe is a watershed event in the bridge industry that may spur states to revise how they prioritize the funding of bridge inspection and repair.
Earlier this year, Washer received $109,500 from the National Academy of Sciences to develop a system that can continuously monitor piers - the primary support systems of a bridge - and warn of structural weaknesses. Upon completion of a prototype, the New York Department of Transportation will select a bridge to conduct a six-month test of his system. He also recently has received a $240,000 grant from the Missouri Department of Transportation to develop infrared imaging technologies to detect defects in concrete bridges.
"There are almost 600,000 bridges in this country, with an average age of 42 years," said Washer. "With that many aging bridges, accidents can happen. The only way to completely eliminate the risk is to not drive on bridges."
Nearly 13 percent of the nation's bridges were classified as "structurally deficient," meaning they are deteriorating, as of 2004, according to the latest report issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Another 13 percent were classified as "functionally obsolete," meaning they are structurally sound but no longer meet transportation standards and demands. In Missouri, 31 percent of the state's bridges are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, according to the November 2006 issue of Better Roads, a trade magazine for the governmental highway and bridge construction industry.
The last major bridge collapse happened 40 years ago. On Dec. 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge in Pleasant Point, WVA, buckled into the Ohio River, claiming 46 lives. Bridges were not inspected before that point, Washer said, and the unfortunate event spurred states to implement monitoring efforts to thwart future disasters. The fallout from the Minneapolis collapse could trigger similar action.
Prior to joining the faculty at MU, Washer was the Federal Highway Administration's leading technical expert for the inspection and nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of highway bridges. While with the FHWA, Washer led a national study of the reliability of visual inspection methods, the primary methods used to assess the condition and safety of the nation's bridges.
Go Back |
