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The Compelling Case of The Bridge of San Luis Rey and Politics

John Amendall

    “On Friday noon, July twentieth 1714 the finest bridge in all Peru broke and precipitated five travelers into the gulf below.” This was the first sentence of the Pulitzer Prize, world acclaimed, fictional novel “The Bridge of San Luis Rey” written by Thornton Wilde published in 1927.
    In the novel a Franciscan monk Brother Juniper witnesses the accident on the Andean rope bridge. The Friar is so overwhelmed by the experience he is determined to prove that life and death are ordained by divine providence. How could God select these travelers for such a catastrophic ending? Later his written account of the bridge collapse and his personal reckonings are deemed heretical by the Spanish Inquisition and Brother Juniper together with his writings are burned at the stake. Serious matter indeed.
    During 2021 the boys and girls of the most elite club in Washington D.C. proposed legislation for a 1.2 trillion infrastructure package. The proposal deals with repairing, improving, and expanding the aging and weathering decay of the nation’s highways, over passes, causeways and bridges which is long overdue.
    The infrastructure proposal should not be a political issue. Republicans, Democrats, Moderates and Independents whomever they are, all pay (taxes) for and have access to the Nation’s highways. The six lane highways of California do not feature a Democrat’s lane, Republican’s lane, Moderate’s, or Independent’s lane whomever they are. The infrastructure proposal was generally supported by both major parties, but at this writing the proposal has not been signed by the President. The reason for this hesitancy is that the 3.5 trillion reconciliation proposal social spending plan which is opposed by Republicans and a few Democrats because of cost, allows bypass in a GOP filibuster with a 50-50 senate. Accordingly the infrastructure is being held hostage by the very political social spending bill.
    On October 17,1989 the Loma Prieta California earthquake (6.9) occurred just before the beginning of the baseball World Series in Candlestick Park. The quake caused widespread damage to structures along the shoreline of the San Francisco-Oakland Bays. Sixty-three people died and 3,757 were injured. A segment of the upper level of the Oakland Bay Bridge collapsed falling on the lower level. Videos of the event showed cars sliding down the collapsed segment to the lower level. The San Mateo Bridge also experienced structural damage. Both bridges were closed for months for repairs causing cruel traffic conditions for regular users. The iconic Golden Gate Bridge survived the quake with no observable damage.
    For New York City the Verrazano Narrows Bridge is equally important to the Golden Gate Bridge’s traffic flow. The Bridge connects the New York borough of Staten Island and Brooklyn. Other bridges up river span the Hudson river.
    In Chicago there are dozen of bridges spanning the Chicago River emptying into Lake Michigan. The bridges connect northern Chicago and suburbs with the business district to the south. The Dearborn bridge is noteworthy for this area.
    While earthquakes are generally perceived by the public as occurring in western states, there is a significant seismic zone stretching from about Cairo Illinois to Barken Tree Arkansas. A series of large quakes (7.5) occurred in 1811-1812 causing extensive structural damage. The quakes rang church bells in Charleston South Carolina and cracked chimneys as far as Cincinnati Ohio. The U.S.G.S. considers the Madrid Seismic Zone as the most active seismic area east of the Rockies. About 200 minor quakes a year occur in this area. And yes., there is evidence that severe quakes occurred prior to 1811-1812 which also means that other severe quakes can be expected in the future for the area. In view of the difference in population between 1811 -1812 and the present, the potential for enormous damage and fatalities is almost unimaginable.
    Because bridges can be under construction there is no exact number of bridges crossing the Mississippi River. There may be about 130. The Madrid seismic Zone definitely threatens these bridges.
    Earthquakes are not the only natural agent causing bridge collapses. In 1940 the Washington Tacoma Narrows Bridge spanning the Tacoma Narrows Strait of Puget Sound between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula opened to traffic on July 1, 1940. It dramatically collapsed into Puget Sound during a wind storm on November 7.
    The original Bridge received its nickname “Galloping Gertie” because of the vertical movement of the deck during windy conditions. Despite several damping measures to reduce vertical movement, the Bridge’s collapse was deemed a lesson in poor design and engineering.
    Less dramatic than quakes and wind storms, flooding events are far more frequent and telling agents producing damage to all types of infrastructure. Certainly changes in weather patterns with increased raining and drainage can make flooding events even more prominent then they are now.
    So! Natural agencies can and do play havoc with infrastructure, making continuous inroads on the varied and complex infrastructure of the U.S.. Comparing the fate of the fictional San Luis Rey Bridge and the demise of five travelers with the large structures of the present and their potential for tragedy is a considerable reach, but mainly as a dramatic attention getter. What isn’t a reach, is increased traffic with an expanding population’s cars and heavy trucks.
    Every day the boys and girls club fail to pass the infrastructure proposal, we are a day closer to some sort of infrastructure tragedy which might’ve been avoided with appropriate action and resources. Don’t let the coven of ditherers enable this dour prediction.

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