There’s a great graphic at Washington Post too of the bridge before and after from an aerial perspective.

It’s interesting to think about fundemental design flaws in this way, surely some critical thinking would lead to a solution? Its kind of like saying 60% of road fatalities are caused by speeding… then doing something revolutionary about it, say installing speed limiters into every car, truck and motorbike. Would it work? Probably, but no one has the power to implement it.

Bridge engineering has in fact progressed quite a lot but sometimes the basic aspects are ignored and more often in regular plain overpass bridges. However, lack of adequate maintenance also is partly to blame for rapid deterioration of bridges.

“Structural deficiencies in the I-35W bridge were so serious that MnDOT last winter considered bolting steel plates to its supports to prevent cracking in fatigued metal.”

MnDOT feared cracking in bridge but opted against making repairs