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It should definitely be the private businesses in control. We've seen what happens when you put the government in charge of things and it's usually not very good. Look at the horrible incident in Minnesota. Apparently, Minnesota officials were warned in 1990 that the bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi River was "structurally deficient," yet they simply relied on patchwork repairs to get the job done.

Equally as terrible was the collapse of the Big Dig tunnel in Boston on July 11, 2006. The head of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, the government department in control of the tunnel, said that a steel "tieback" that had held a 40-foot section of ceiling gave way, letting the concrete slabs loose as cars drove beneath them.

Had the management of these structures been under control of private businesses solely responsible for their structure and safety, it's more than likely that the proper repairs would have been made, and many pointless deaths would have been avoided.

I say this because the government in the U.S. has tons of things on it's plate and is very rarely able to deal with the important issues, such as war, crime, poverty, and health. Therefore, it's no surprise to me that such a little thing as a bridge or tunnel would be completely overlooked.

On the other hand, private businesses are created for the care of specific problems. These business get their money in making sure that everything is done correctly and at the right time, and they only have their specific industry to worry about. The possibility of a business that is in control of a bridge overlooking structural malfunctions as being "unimportant" is non-existent.

Bridges and tunnels are just as important in our lives as normal roads. Everyone drives on or through them every single day, and it is ridiculous that we should be forced to make a sign of the cross or feel any kind of fear whenever we must enter one. The government is not usually able to understand what is very important in every day "civilian" life, but a private business understands this concept so much, they've made their livings keeping others safe and giving us free reign to travel.

If the government could give the people more control over many things, America would be a much better place. But if they could start by handing over control of bridges and tunnels, many lives would be saved in future.

Learn more about this author, Blair Bordelon.
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