1 of 9

Private

Write now Article Tools

The history of local government managing bridges and tunnels have been a disaster. The same can apply to the Federal Government managing the Interstate System in the United States of America. There are examples which justify the need for private management of bridges and tunnels.

The incident of a highway bridge collapse in Minnesota in the year 2007 is proof of the need for private business management. It was reported that the highway bridge was inspected and was certified as OK a few months before its collapse. A Private Business operating the bridge would have inspected the bridge and made the necessary maintenance for its customers. Who are the customers? The people who are using the bridge.

One classic example of mismanagement of a bridge by a city occurred in the City of Akron, Ohio during the 1960s and 1970s. Before the construction of a Y Bridge which connected the North Hill Section of Akron with the rest of the city, there was a North Hill Viaduct. The North Hill Viaduct was a sturdy and supposedly stable bridge which was supposed to have been maintained by the City of Akron with time. It was between two hills and without the viaduct, there was a wide range that separated the two hills.

What happened was that pieces of the North Hill Viaduct started to fall with chips going from the bridge and to the residential areas below. It started to become a serious problem to the point that whole cars could have fallen through the bridge. The City of Akron, Ohio did nothing to sustain the bridge and only made minor repairs. The minor repairs were the equivalent of a Physician and a Nurse applying a Bandage to a Gangrenous Leg.

The end result was that in the last 1970's, the North Hill Viaduct was torn down and eventually replaced by a Y Bridge which is supposedly being sustained by the City of Akron, Ohio. The Y Bridge was dedicated in 1981 after an almost two year and a half year wait with traffic being detoured to other areas. This unfortunate event could have been avoided with private business [whose incentive is to please the customer] maintaining the North Hill Viaduct or its successor bridge instead of the benign neglect of the City of Akron, Ohio.

While there are people who are in favour of government intervention in all spheres of life, excess government intervention especially in public transportation should not mean that the benevolent state will take care of the roads, bridges, and tunnels. It is when private businesses take care of such public transportation that people are safer.

Learn more about this author, Roberto Alvarez-Galloso.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Should management of bridges and tunnels be left to private business or local government??
We want to hear your view. Write now!