| Recently, the bridge that fell last year in Minneapolis, | | | | center. Much care has been taken with the building of |
| Minnesota reopened to traffic flow. It was a mini | | | | the new bridge so that it can be more easily |
| celebration for those who had regularly used the old | | | | maintained when necessary. The sensors will help |
| bridge to travel on and commute everyday. You might | | | | significantly reduce the risk of a serious malfunction. |
| not think that one bridge would cause a lot of | | | | Minnesota is well known for the harshness of the |
| problems for people unless you were someone who | | | | wintertime there and the changing weather can have |
| used it on a regular basis. Evidently this bridge was a | | | | adverse affects on bridges over time. Bridges in these |
| main artery for travel in Minneapolis. People were seen | | | | colder winter climates are exposed to snow, ice, and a |
| waving little flags and heard honking their horns as they | | | | lot of road salt. These elements can erode structures |
| went over the new bridge for the first time on | | | | eventually and this is why the sensors are so |
| September the 18th, 2008. | | | | important. |
| When the old bridge collapsed over the Mississippi | | | | It is scary enough to drive across long high bridges for |
| River last year, there were thirteen people killed and at | | | | some people especially when you wonder how well a |
| least one hundred and forty five were also injured. If | | | | bridge has been maintained. Perhaps in the future all |
| you saw it on the news at the time that it occurred, | | | | bridges will be constructed in the way this bridge has |
| you witnessed cars in the water and some that were | | | | been. Whether the bridge is over water or over a |
| hung precariously over the edge of the broken | | | | deep canyon area, no one wants one to collapse while |
| roadway. Rescues took a while and as victims waited, | | | | they are driving across. The failure of the bridge in |
| they were praying that the remnants of the bridge | | | | Minnesota sparked at least a temporary rash of bridge |
| would not collapse further and allow them to fall into | | | | inspections throughout the country. Hopefully, officials |
| the water as well. | | | | will see that other bridges are repaired or replaced |
| This new bridge is being called a smart bridge because | | | | with better construction and technology to prevent |
| it has hundreds of sensors in place that will give alerts | | | | disasters from happening again like the one that did |
| when there is a problem. Cameras will monitor the | | | | last year in Minnesota. |
| bridge so that data can be seen by a management | | | | |