by Mary Curtis

Created on: May 06, 2008

A federal gasoline tax would not help in the repair of America's older bridges because, like other instances of big government, it would just be throwing more money at the problem rather achieving a solution. The gasoline tax, which is currently at 18.4 cents per gallon, already allocates over 83% - or over 15 cents a gallon - to highways. But in order to solve the problem of America's deteriorating bridges, experts say that uniform safety and inspection standards are needed. In addition, the funding for these bridges should be specifically allocated rather put into a general highways fund which is many times siphoned into pet projects rather than bridge safety and repair projects.

We all became painfully aware of the deterioration of our national bridges when we witnessed on national television news the tragic collapse of the westbound bridge of Interstate 35 near Minneapolis on August 1, 2007. This bridge, built in 1967, collapsed into the Mississippi River during the evening rush hour. Thirteen people lost their lives and one hundred were injured in this tragedy. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in early 2008 attributed a design error to the collapse.

The Minneapolis bridge collapse triggered concern over just how safe our bridges are. Most of us cross (or go under) at least one bridge everyday in our commutes and, up until the Minneapolis collapse, we have taken our bridges for granted. As a result of the horrible loss of life, however, discussion has begun as to what should be done to prevent another collapse.

According to ARTBA (American Road & Transportation Builders Association) which comprises 5,000 members firms and public agencies, the problem with America's bridges in multifaceted. To make our bridges safe and keep them that way is more complex than just raising a few more cents to an existing gas tax. Standards need to be established to ensure that the highest-quality materials are used along with state-of-the-art technologies to build and repair bridges. Also, uniform inspection standards should be developed so that a responsible choice can be made as to whether to replace an old bridge or make repairs to it. These inspections, ARTBA says, "should utilize professionally qualified engineers."

Rather than Congress talking about raising taxes, they should instead be asking engineers and other bridge experts to create national safety and inspection standards. These standards can be applied on national Interstate bridges as well as at the State levels. We should consider safety first and then find the funding.

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