I spent a weekend in Cleveland, OH and was shocked at the condition of the infrastructure. I didn't realize how spoiled I was in DFW because so many of the superhighways, bridges, etc. are relatively new or already upgraded.
- Brian
The roads here on the North Coast of America do take a beating due to repeated cycles of thawing and freezing. The increases in permitted truck axle load limits over the last 20 years don't help, because the roads weren't designed for them. And Cleveland is suffering the pangs of being a shrinking urban area, which means less money every year to pay for maintaining the same infrastructure.
On the subject of bridges, though, since the Silver Bridge crossing the Ohio River collapsed with significant loss of life in the 1960s, Ohio has required that all bridges on public highways in the state be inspected every year instead of the every two years required by the NTSB on interstates bridges. An inspector with serious concerns is empowered to close a bridge on his own authority. Any bridge that does not safely meet current NTSB load requirements must be either posted for any restricted loads (e.g., "Vehicles Over 10 Tons Prohibited") or closed until repaired/replaced.
No inspection program is foolproof, but I don't think we've had a major bridge collapse since the Silver.
Frank2135
I haven't seen the news this evening but it sounds like suprisingly few people died. Simply amazing! The scary thing is how many old bridges Minnesota has. Are any more going to fall soon?
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