[StBernard] Rep. Melancon Focuses on Bridge Safety at Congressional Hearing

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Wed Sep 19 20:02:04 EDT 2007


WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA) took part in a Congressional hearing today aimed at exploring the current state of bridge-related research and technology development, and to consider future research and development priorities to improve bridge safety. Today’s hearing, held by the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology, was entitled “Bridge Safety: Next Steps to Protect the Nation’s Critical Infrastructure,” and marks the beginning of the Committee’s efforts to address the serious problems in U.S. bridge infrastructure after the disastrous I-35W bridge collapse that took place in Minneapolis last month.



As a member of the Committee, Rep. Melancon also urged his colleagues to study not just bridge safety, but the structural soundness of all elements of the United States’ public infrastructure, especially levee systems.



Rep. Melancon commented, “The United States cannot prosper and grow without safe, reliable public infrastructure. We only have to look to our recent past for proof. As we saw after Hurricane Katrina, the manmade disaster caused by the levee failures was more disastrous to New Orleans and south Louisiana than the damage inflicted by the hurricane. It was the levee failures that made Katrina the most costly, and one of the most deadly, disasters in U.S. history.” Rep. Melancon’s full statement is copied below.



Structural problems, both major and minor, plague a significant portion of bridges in the U.S. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Bridge Inventory, 73,764 bridges around the U.S. (12.4 percent of all bridges) were classified as “structurally deficient” in 2006, including the bridge that collapsed in Minnesota. 1,869 bridges in Louisiana (14.0% of all bridges) were deemed structurally deficient. A map showing structurally deficient bridges across the country can be found here: http://transportation.house.gov/us%20bridgemap.shtml <http://transportation.house.gov/us%20bridgemap.shtml> .



The hearing explored the current state of bridge-related research and development, including government and academic research into materials, design elements, and testing and inspection technologies. Witnesses discussed future research priorities for building improved bridge infrastructure and maintaining current bridges to avoid catastrophic failure.



Committee Members heard from a panel of federal, state, academic, and private industry experts on how ongoing research and development efforts are addressing the need to make our nation’s bridges safer. Witnesses explained how bridges are currently tested for safety, and how states prioritize repairs to bridges deemed deficient. Witnesses also examined avenues for future research geared towards better understanding the changing demands placed on U.S. bridge infrastructure.



However, the definition of structural deficiency is broad, and can cover everything from non-structural paving issues to serious flaws. State and local inspectors are responsible for determining which bridges need the most immediate attention.



The challenge for policymakers at the state, local, and federal level is to determine which bridges are the highest priority for repairs given limited funding. ASCE estimates that repairing every deficient bridge across the nation would cost $9.4 billion per year for 20 years. Inspectors use a variety of methods to determine if a bridge has immediate need of repair, including visual inspection, sensors, and other non-destructive testing technologies. The existing methods are imperfect, however, and additional research is needed to develop methods that will provide better quality data on which bridges are in greatest need of immediate repair.



More information about today’s hearing can be found here: http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=1949 <http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=1949>



Below is Rep. Melancon’s opening statement from today’s hearing.



Thank you Chairman Gordon and Ranking Member Hall for holding this important hearing on bridge safety. Since the collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minnesota, many Americans have questioned the safety of the bridges they cross every day, but this is only one part of a much larger issue. The tragedy in Minnesota emphasizes the importance of not just bridge safety, but the safety of our entire public infrastructure system.



Americans depend on public infrastructure every day and they deserve to be confidant that their tax dollars are being used to make them safe during their commutes and in their communities. As their elected representatives in government, it is our job to promote this security by ensuring that all elements of public infrastructure – bridges, roads, dams, and levees – are up to code.



These are needs – not wants. The United States cannot prosper and grow without safe, reliable public infrastructure. We only have to look to our recent past for proof. As we saw after Hurricane Katrina, the manmade disaster caused by the levee failures was more disastrous to New Orleans and south Louisiana than the damage inflicted by the hurricane. It was the levee failures that made Katrina the most costly, and one of the most deadly, disasters in U.S. history.



I applaud this committee for its work to ensure that our bridges are safe. However, I hope that the work does not end there. Let us take this opportunity to begin studying the safety of all the elements of our public infrastructure system – bridges, roads, dams and, not least of all, levees. We owe it to the American public to make sure they have reason to feel safe again.



Thank you and I yield back my time.



# # #





More information about the StBernard mailing list