The bridge that lies crumpled in the Mississippi River is the latest link to fail in a national highway system rapidly deteriorating under the strain of ever-increasing traffic volume and inadequate upkeep, transportation experts said on Thursday. Once the sturdy pride of post-war America, the federal interstate system is now a vast network of ageing roads and bridges, including many—such as the span that collapsed in Minneapolis—that engineers consider deficient or obsolete. Despite record spending on highways, experts and engineers said federal funds aren’t enough to save the interstate system’s half-century old bridges and 47,000 miles of highway from further decay, as a network designed to connect the nation teeters under a crush of commuter traffic. According to a 2005 highway administration report, more than 75,000 of the nation’s roughly 600,000 bridges—13.1 percent—were rated “structurally deficient,” meaning some components of the bridges’ decks or support structures are rated poor or worse. While not necessarily unsafe, the structurally deficient designation often requires speed and weight restrictions to lessen the risk of collapse. Meanwhile, agencies report that divers searched the Mississippi River for more bodies entombed in cars trapped beneath the twisted steel and concrete slabs of a bridge that collapsed, killing at least four. As many as 30 people were missing as the rescue effort shifted to recovery.Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty also ordered an immediate inspection of all bridges in the state with similar designs and President George W. Bush pledged federal assistance while offering his condolences to victims’ families.The Homeland Security Department said the collapse did not appear to be terrorism-related, but the cause was still unknown.In the river, divers were checking for bodies and taking down licence plate numbers for authorities to track down the vehicles’ owners. Getting the vehicles out was expected to take several days and involve moving around very large, heavy pieces of bridge.
