Like all of you, I am glad that this was not worse than it is. My mom was quite upset. She graduated from the U of M, although she spent most of her time at the ag campus in St. Paul. After graduation she managed the 11PM to 7AM shift in the cafeteria of a big defense plant way west of the cities. Her big event there was when Roosevelt died.
Not to make light of the tragedy, but the Police Chief Tim Dolan sure brought beauty to the screen as did the Mayor of Minneapolis.
Most, if not all of the Federal Interstate Highway System was built with money from coffers here in Washington. They started during Eisenhower's term as Defense Highways for moving troops and weapons around the country. He was impressed by the autobahns. The states put up some matching funds in places, but I remember the big signs stating: YOUR FEDERAL TAX DOLLARS AT WORK wherever the construction was taking place. The bad thing about the Federal Government is that while they make it possible to build things, they are very bad at maintaining them. In the late 70s, a seam split in the water proof membrane under the kitchen on the top floor of the Center for the Performing Kennedys. The US Park Service kept requesting funds to fix the floor membrane, but the requests for the comparatively modest sum kept being turned down. By that time the plaster on a large section of the huge right wall of the concert hall was bubbling and flaking and looking like hell. Finally, the concert hall was closed for a year while everything from the kitchen floor down was fixed. The highways and sewers and water systems, like the electrical grid (not all of them government built)are there, but no one in a position to do anything is thinking about the deterioration, nor does anyone want to talk about it. On still summer mornings if you walk around Capitol Hill, you can smell natural gas seeping from the ancient pipes installed underground over 100 years ago.
I do not understand why the bridge was built without center support "to aid navigation" when the water is, according to reports 7 to 9 feet deep and just above the bridge is a dam. It's not like the Chesapeake Bay Bridge with huge freighters passing under it many times a day. Does the dam have a lock for river traffic to negotiate the dam? The 10th Street Bridge has supports aplenty so was this bridge design more designer's ego than practical?
I hope the death toll does not rise much higher and that everyone gets adequate treatment for the trauma. I have no worries about the bridge being rebuilt rapidly. It's in a wealthy city with probably a majority caucasian population and the Democratic Party plans to hold their next convention there.
