When you think about increasing weight limits for
Trucks...check the facts
Some bridge collapses are just unavoidable. Things like weather, ship collisions, and
truck crashes can push the limits of a bridge beyond what it can handle. It is unfortunate... But that is not all ways the case.
Bridges Do Collapse Because of Failures In Their Structure..
But how many. Is this even a problem. Well I will let the trucker population decide for themselves. Here is a list of bridge collapses in the United States since 1980 that were caused by some structural defect or problem
- Cline Avenue Bridge in Indiana in 1982: tower support showed developed cracks in concrete
- Mianus River Bridge in Connecticut in 1983: metal was fatigued and corroded/ maintenance postponed
- Schoharie Creek Bridge in New York in 1987 contractor error with footings on riverbed
- I-5 Bridge Disaster in California in 1995 structural failure
- Hoan Bridge in Wisconsin in 2000 Weather and traffic overload
- I35 W Bridge In Minnesota in 2007 Overload/ undersized gussets/structural failure
- Harp River Bridge in Washington in 2007 Collapsed due to truck weight
Image via Wikipediathere are others due to forces of nature or unforseen events but here is the list. One way to look at it would be to say that there is only 7 out of the over 500,000 bridges in the United States. thats less than a quarter of one percent. Even as I right this though I dont want to risk it. Somebody WAS part of that tiny number of bridge collapse victims. Any insurance agent would gladly insure you based on those numbers at a good rate.
Regardless there is a mental impact. No one wants to be one of the people who are on those bridges when they collapse, regardless of how far fetched the chances are
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http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100826104935AAU4lEQ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Bridge_Inventory