Minneapolis bridge collapse raises questions

The collapse of the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River opened the nation’s eyes to the subject of our corroding infrastructure. While it started a knee-jerk reaction in states’ legislatures to immediately inspect America’s bridges, we who work in this industry know there is a better way.

We know the causes, and age is not an excuse. Climate is. As with many cities that endure harsh winters, the tons of deicing salt Minneapolis pours onto its roads every year could have been a factor in accelerating the bridge's corrosion.

I spent the better part of Friday shuffling from one media point to the next giving this explanation. Newsweek was one of those. Eve Conant interviewed me for the print edition. You can also listen to the audio version with Newsweek On Air host David Alpern.

While a definitive cause for the collapse has yet to be determined, my best guess is road salt. It’s the same environment that led to the corrosion of NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building, on which we used cathodic protection to mitigate and repair the building.

Whether it’s in the air or used to keep roadways safe (oh, the irony), salt is corrosive. And if the proper steps aren’t taken to prevent decay on the front end, I’m afraid this won’t be the last bridge collapse to take our breath away, and dominate the news.

Corrosion is like a cancer in a seemingly healthy person’s body. It grows undetected until it's too late. Then you have a New York City steam pipe explosion, or a major artery collapsing into a river.

Precautionary steps can and must be taken NOW to ensure our roads, buildings, and underground infrastructures are safe. Moreover, these measures should be part of ONGOING, PROACTIVE steps that are aimed at preventing such disasters from ever happening again.

Looking for causes and scurrying around inspecting our infrastructure AFTER there's a disaster is simply the wrong way to go about this.