Five years after the deadly collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, experts say nearly 8000 of America’s bridges are still in dire need of repair—including landmark structures like the Brooklyn Bridge. But how much will it cost? And is there the political will to do it?
Video of the 1940 collapse of the newly completed Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Producer: Stillman Fires Collection; Tacoma Fire Department (Video) – Castle Films (Sound)
Segment Guests
Dan McNichol
Dan McNichol is a journalist and the author of The Roads That Built America: The Incredible Story of the U.S. Interstate System (Sterling, 2005) and The Big Dig (Silver Lining, 2000). He is based in San Francisco, California.
Barry LePatner
Barry LePatner is the creator of SaveOurBridges.com, the author of Too Big To Fail: America’s Failing Infrastructure and the Way Forward (Foster Publishing, 2010), and founder of LePatner & Associates construction law firm. He is based in New York, New York.
Bill Miller
Ben Miller is an associate producer of civil and environmental engineering at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Meet the Producer
About Christopher Intagliata
@cintagliataChristopher Intagliata was Science Friday’s senior producer. He once served as a prop in an optical illusion and speaks passable Ira Flatowese.