Sometimes it takes tragedy to spur change.
The collapse of the Interstate 35W Bridge in Minneapolis earlier this month that killed at least nine people has raised concerns about the safety of bridges across the country.
In Connecticut, Gov. M. Jodi Rell said she had asked the state Department of Transportation (DOT) in June to inspect every two years the state”™s bridges that had previously been on a four-year inspection schedule.
The day after the Minnesota bridge collapse, Rell said the more aggressive inspections would lead to better bridge safety.
“The safety of the public is our top priority and the people of Connecticut can be assured that we are making every effort to regularly inspect all of our bridges and keep them safe and well-maintained,” Rell said in a written statement.
Rell also called for the state Legislature to approve a $100 million “Safe and Sound” plan to accelerate high-priority bridge repair and replacement projects over the next two years. Rell previously had proposed $40 million for such projects, but she said the Minnesota bridge collapse “underscores the importance of bridge safety programs, and my plan means we can accelerate our program in Connecticut and address our priority bridges now.”
Connecticut has 5,354 bridges;1,144 that had been on a four-year cycle are now to be inspected every two years. Another 4,054 were already on a two-year inspection cycle, and 156 are on a more frequent cycle.
In order to move the DOT”™s bridge inspection program to a two-year cycle, 561 of the 1,144 bridges were identified as needing an inspection before Sept. 30.
DOT Commissioner Ralph Carpenter directed the DOT bridge inspection unit to develop a report detailing the inspection schedule for Connecticut”™s “steel arch deck truss” bridges, the same type of bridge that collapsed in Minnesota, including any deficiencies noted and corrective actions taken in the recent past.
Connecticut has its own bridge-collapse history. On June 28, 1983, three people died after a section of the Mianus River Bridge on I-95 in Greenwich broke free and fell into the river. The collapse occurred at 1:30 a.m., a time of day the bridge is lightly traveled.
Â
