Time to Overhaul America's Aging Bridges?

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08/31/2012

Aug. 31, 2012

Time to Overhaul America's Aging Bridges?

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Sad Ol' Bridge

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Five years after the deadly collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, experts say nearly 8000 of America's bridges are still in dire need of repair -- including landmark structures like the Brooklyn Bridge. But how much will it cost? And is there the political will to do it?

In the SciFri Snack: Tired of getting stuck in bridge traffic? Take a minute and listen to Dan McNichol, author of "The Roads That Built America,” tell us about the abuse that those poor old urban bridges take every day.

Above: Video of the 1940 collapse of the newly completed Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
Producer: Stillman Fires Collection; Tacoma Fire Department (Video) - Castle Films (Sound)

Produced by Christopher Intagliata, Associate Senior Producer

Guests

Dan McNichol
Journalist
Author, "The Roads That Built America: The Incredible Story of the U.S. Interstate System" (Sterling, 2005)
Author, "The Big Dig" (Silver Lining, 2000)
San Francisco, California
Barry LePatner
Creator, SaveOurBridges.com
Author, "Too Big To Fail: America's Failing Infrastructure and the Way Forward" (Foster Publishing, 2010)
Founder, LePatner & Associates (construction law firm)
New York, New York
Bill Miller
Associate Professor
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Aug. 31, 2012