Horseman, J. (2014, November 22). Transportation: Ratings focus attention on problem bridges. Retrieved November 22, 2014, from The Press Enterprise website: http://www.pe.com/articles/bridges-754870-bridge-deficient.html
Bridges all over California are being inspected and rated on the strength of their infrastructure. Many bridges have been rated “structurally deficient” which doesn’t mean the bridges are about to collapse, but they need to be reviewed. If a bridge were to be reviewed as “too dangerous” for the general public, the Caltrans officials would close the bridge. These ratings are only “an indication of a poorly performing infrastructure that will cause more problems in the future.” Tax money is dedicated to “bridge repair projects” if the “conditions found during field inspections and documented in bridge inspection reports” are bad.
This article shows that the infrastructure Californians rely on, is having neglected maintenance. If large amounts of money are being spent on bridges that are “structurally deficient,” who’s supposed to be clearing them for cars to drive on? Shouldn’t there be certain checkpoints of safety that the bridge must undergo? It’s a complete waste of money to spend time and effort on a bridge that will be structurally deficient and then need even more money to repair it. It makes more sense to do it right the first time and prevent casualties and deaths as a result of a poorly built bridge.
Bridges are certainly important, however, in paragraph 2 you want to make the connection to why this is environmental science. I think you can make the argument, but it might not be obvious at first glance. Think about the materials required to build these bridges (and then having to possibly build them again… or even taking down a bridge has huge impacts). Just be sure to articulate the connection for future abstracts.
That’s a great point Mr. Powell. I think I meant to relate it back to the large number of resources that would be needed to build and rebuild these bridges if they aren’t sound the first time. The materials and resources needed to build these bridges would cause a tremendous amount of pollution (technology and transportation) and would have huge impacts on the environment.