On Friday, January 28, a bridge in the city of Pittsburgh collapsed, injuring 10 people and seven vehicles falling into a valley. The infrastructure condition in the US is getting worse every day, and the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure law that the Biden administration recently passed is still considered insufficient.
The collapse of the bridge in Pittsburgh occurred after an inspection of the bridge was carried out, the last time was in September 2021. As a result, the bridge was judged to be in poor condition.
VOA contacted Ir. Azhar Saputra PhD., senior lecturer at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Gajah Mada University. They questioned why the fact that the bridge was in a poor condition, there was no immediate follow-up by the government? Especially considering this is a quick and visual assessment.
“In a good bridge management system, in that poor condition, there should be followed by a more detailed investigation to ensure whether the status still meets safety standards or not. Actually, from the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) in the United States itself, after a poor condition emerged from the Department of Transportation, it should be continued with a detailed investigation to determine whether this bridge should be closed or not. It seems that this has not been done.” Said Ashar.
This opinion, said Ashar, is strengthened by the information that has circulated so far in the community, in particular the early photos from the NTSB investigation which show extensive and severe rusting of iron. this clearly reduces the capacity of the structural elements of this bridge to bear the load. (Source: https://www.voaindonesia.com/; Ir. Ashar Saputra Ph.D.)