CONTENTS 24.01.08
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2 ~ JAN.2008
. 1
Rép:
1NEWCIVil ENGINEER1Ib91-
1stFloor,GreaterLondonHouse HampsteadRoad,LondonNW17EJ EDITORIALINQUIRIES
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FULLCONTACTLIST PAGE50
14
ANJUYSIS Olympie questions NCElooks at the ODA'spro-
gramme and the many ques- tions it leaves unanswered.
www.nce.co.uk 124.01.08 NEWCIVILENGINEER3
18
HIGHWAYS Devil of a job
The A3is being buried under a geologicalmarvel, the Devil's Punchbowl in Surrey.
22
BRIDGES Aerodrome road
Barnet Council is having a tense lime replacing Iwo old rail bridges over the Fast months.
Alsointhisissue
05 News
Clyde arc failure- connection detail probed
06 News
Sprinklers for Tyne tunnel
08 News
Design blamed for Minnesota bridge collapse
Comment
AntonyOliver
16 Letters
Nuclear power, Stonehenge, bridges, salaries, water
28 Spotlight
.Piling &foundations
50 Names
(1 FaeesBuro Happold's Jane Boyle
"The publie's need for a 'head to roll' should not be allowed jo bide the more serious problem of underinvestment"
What ,an we learn 'rom the 1-35W bridge coltaple?
This week's report into last August's 1-3SW bridge collapse in Minnesota must remind us that we ignore proper infrastructure in- spection and maintenance at our peril.
While clearly the investigations have identified some significant problems with the original design of this structure and ils ability to core with subsequent modifica- tions, these can't be allowed to mask more fundamental asset management failings.
l fear that this could happen. To say that
"I-3SW collapsed because of a design fault" is more easily understood and acted upon than
"1-3SW collapsed after years of inadequate structural inspection and maintenance".
It is vital that any investigation into a
bridgecollapseor structural failure
- not least one this catastrophic -looks in detail at aIl the angles and the possible causes.Whetherwe are talking about 1-3sW"scale collapses or events on the scale oflast week's Clyde Arc connection failure, there will
always be usefullessons to learn.
But just as the investigators at Clyde this week will be trying to discover not only that the connection sheared but also why it sheared, investigators in the US must remain focused on why the 1-3SWbridge chose that particular moment in ils, albeit under-de- signed and non-redundant life, to collapse.
Fortunately a collapse on the scale sten in Minnesota is veIl rare. As such it provides a unique and veIl real opportunity to test structural theory and learn lessons for the future. Of course it is therefore crucial that the officiaI investigation report exposes any possible design defects within a complex and non-redundant structure such as 1-3SW
Engineers in the US and around the world
- not least in the UK- should not be left with the impression that by identifying any specifie design flaws the collapse somehow became unpreventable.
ln short, the public's need for a "head to
roll" should not be allowed to hide the more serious and potentially dangerous problem of maintenance under investment.
There can, after all, be little doubt that the US has been struggling over the last couple of decades to provide sufficient and appro- priate funding to maintain ils vast amount of public infrastructure. And while there are most probablyvery real questions marks over the specifie sizing of various elements of the 1-3SWstructure, we should not overlook the other maintenance related issues when drawing conclusions and learning lessons.
Not least because we are not really that much better in the UK when it cornes to properly funding and managing the mainte- nance of our infrastructure assets.
We must therefore ensure that we use this kind of disaster to not only learn engineer- ing lessons but also to teach our political masters. As they say, a stitch in time...
IIIAntony Oliver is NCEs editor
