Hearing on Bridge Safety
September 5, 2007
The Transportation Committee is currently holding a hearing on structurally deficient bridges. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), of 597,340 bridges in the United States, 73,784 are structurally deficient. In light of the recent tragic collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Members of Congress and their constituents have been working to obtain as much information as possible about the condition of bridges in their districts.
Watch the hearing live via committee webcast or on C Span 3.
| Chairman James Oberstar: "Madam Secretary, in your statement you say the I-35 bridge collapse was a tragedy and a wakeup call. It's not a wakeup, it's a re-awakening. You said there's no transportation infrastructure safety crisis. You also say it's inaccurate to conclude the nation's transportation infrastructure is subject to catastrophic failure. It was a catastrophic failure for Minneapolis. There's 740 other bridges like this that were built at the same time throughout the country." |