News – The business of fear
There were a few stories published last week reporting that preliminary news from the inspection of the Minneapolis I-35 bridge collapse last August indicates the bridge was not properly designed. It seems that gusset failure caused the collapse and that the gussets were not properly sized for the original conditions of the bridge, let alone the later modifications.
If you search the news, you will find this relatively lightly reported, and you certainly will not find many follow-up stories and “in depth” investigative pieces. Does anyone remember what the reporting looked like last August after the initial shock of the collapse and loss of life? Thousands of articles like this one were leading us to believe that the nations bridges were in disrepair and in danger of collapse because they had been allowed to deteriorate and because cost cutting had reduced the number of inspections.
Of course it is no wonder there are not thousands of stories about the fact that this particular bridge was improperly designed, because most people don’t care about a single bridge that they will probably never cross. So it isn’t very newsworthy, at least not as newsworthy as something sensational that might make attract local eyeballs who want to know if it is safe to drive to work in the morning!
Of course there are a few stories circulating that want you to know the I-35 bridge was not the ONLY one with this design problem…Be afraid. Be VERY afraid.
