By Marty Baker, Editor

Much news time in recent months has been devoted to the collapse of the I-35W bridge, with riveting stories on the Internet and television and in many newspapers and magazines.  Government leaders in charge of allocating funding and taxpayers footing the bills need to sit up and take notice of the world’s deteriorating infrastructure.  Meanwhile, transportation departments, engineers, and indeed welders need to be ready when the funding is released to repair and replace deteriorating bridges, tunnels, and pipelines. 

The Minnesota bridge collapse was one of the more tragic and recent in our memories, but in reality, it is not an isolated event.  It is just one in a lengthy list of bridges that have collapsed for various reasons to include:

• July 2007 – A highway overpass under construction in Oroville, California collapsed
• April 2007 – A section of freeway off the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge collapsed
• September 2006 – A bridge collapsed in Quebec, Canada
• November 2005 – A bridge in southern Spain collapsed
• May 2002 – A bridge spanning the Arkansas River in Webbers Falls, Oklahoma collapsed.
• August 2002 – Two bridges in Central China collapsed

And the list goes on. 

According to Greg Gordon, “U.S. Saw Need in 1998 to Fix Nation’s Bridges,”  [http://www.twincities.com] there are nearly 600,000 federally funded bridges and 79,523 of them are classified as functionally obsolete, meaning that they need to be replaced.  While not limited to, much focus has been placed on the steel deck truss bridges that use a non-redundant design structure… meaning that if a single part failed, the whole structure could collapse.  Such was the case with the Silver Bridge in Ohio that failed the year of its completion in 1967 because of the failure of a single chain link.  Since that time, fundamental reform of bridge design and safety has occurred.  However, many of our bridges pre-date the 1960s and the Federal Highway Administration indicates that there are 756 steel deck truss bridges in the U.S. that carry a design of the I-35W bridge. 

In the U.S., bridges are inspected at least annually and inspectors  rank bridges by visual inspection of the steel and concrete used in decks, piers, joints, corrosion, and other criteria.  Problems can include, but are not limited to, corroding steel, cracked concrete, and fatigue cracking. 

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) assembled a panel of 24 of the nation’s leading civil engineers who conducted an extensive study and survey to develop the Report Card For America’s Infrastructure [http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/index.cfm].  Using grading categories A through F and I for incomplete, the highest grade given to any infrastructure was a C (mediocre).  For bridges, they estimate that it will cost $9.4 billion a year for twenty years to eliminate all bridge deficiencies.  And bridges were just one type of structure in those listed.  Most all of those deficient structures in the listing will require welding for reconstruction.    

Government entities must be cautious of hiring the contractors with the “lowest and best” bid in view of the fact that less-than-reputable firms may be tempted to bid low to get the work and then hire unqualified employees at low rates to perform the construction.  Safety is compromised when people who do not possess valid welding certifications are hired to perform the construction. 

Contractors must be ready with qualified workers to bid on the projects and Hobart Institute stands ready to offer training, certification and qualification to prepare welders for the work, whether it be for bridges, dams, locks, rail, schools, aviation, energy, or other applications.  As an American Welding Society (AWS) accredited test facility, Hobart Institute offers individuals an opportunity to perform welding skill tests to various codes and specifications that outline the qualifications for the welders and provide a guide and requirements for engineers and contractors.  One of those is the AWS D1.5 Bridge Welding Code.  AWS also publishes D1.1 for structural welding of steel, D1.2 for structural welding of aluminum, and others to set forth standards for welding.  While these codes are recognized nationwide, each state may apply the code according to their own guidelines or state statutes. 

In the United States, it is easy to take our infrastructure for granted and look the other way.  Warnings have been issued by Stephen Flynn [The Edge of Disaster: Rebuilding a Resilient Nation, 2007] and by the ASCE and others.  We expect that what our parents and grandparents built will last forever.  It is time to redirect our attention on how we can make things better and begin the preservation work to leave the world a better place for our children and grandchildren.