If you haven’t heard, the report, recently released by the National Transportation Safety Board, indicates that inspectors believe the bridge collapse, which resulted in 13 dead and 145 people injured, was caused due to a flaw in the original design of the bridge. But that’s not the shocking part. Hard as it may be to believe, the government doesn’t mandate that inspectors periodically revisit original design documents to make sure bridges will hold up under today’s conditions—even though many of these structures are half a century old or even older.
“The design flaw revelations are only the tip of a very damning iceberg,” says LePatner, coauthor of Structural & Foundation Failures (McGraw-Hill, 1982, coauthored with Sidney M. Johnson, P.E.) and author of Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets: How to Fix America’s Trillion-Dollar Construction Industry (The University of Chicago Press, October 2007, ISBN-13: 978-0-226-47267-6, ISBN-10: 0-226-47267-1, $25.00).
“In 40 years, new calculations were never made to determine how much weight the bridge should be holding in today’s conditions. Was there more traffic flowing over this bridge? Yes. Had renovations been made to the bridge that added weight to the structure? Yes, and, in fact, there was heavy construction equipment parked on the bridge when it collapsed. But no one ever said, ‘Wait a minute—let’s make sure this bridge can handle all of these changes that have occurred.’ To me, that’s terrifying!”
And here’s some more sobering food for thought: there are currently 72,000 bridges that the federal government labels “structurally deficient” and 80,000 labeled “functionally obsolete.” The fallen I-35 bridge wasn’t on either list.
The state of the infrastructure system in the U.S. today results from having been poorly managed and underfunded for years, says LePatner. Today, there are no uniform state-mandated minimum standards for the maintenance of bridges and roads. Inspections of bridges are to occur every two years by federal requirements, but when carried out these are often subjective visual observations that fail to use the latest technology to detect cracks and corrosion that may be invisible.
Currently, he adds, the U.S. government provides $2 billion in maintenance costs annually for 592,000 bridges that fall within its purview. This works out to a paltry $3,500 per bridge.
“It doesn’t take a genius to realize that $3,500 isn’t enough to cover an adequate bridge inspection,” says LePatner. “And if you and I can realize that, you’d better believe the politicians who allocate the money know it, too. But politicians don’t get votes for refurbishing infrastructure. It’s a topic that’s just not sexy enough for them, so they’re not interested in backing it. They just bury their heads in the sand and hope that nothing bad happens on their watch!”
Another factor hindering the funding of repairs is the system in play that allows state governments to do what they choose with the money given to them by the federal government.
“The federal government doesn’t give a state X amount of money and say bridge A in your state needs repairs and you must use this money to fix it,” says LePatner. “So the state uses its own discretion to decide how to use the money, and that may result in, I don’t know, park renovations instead of bridge repairs.”
Today’s problems remain, despite decades of engineering analysis and reports that have highlighted the deteriorating nature of our infrastructure and the costs of remediation—now estimated to be in the hundreds of billions and increasing exponentially as every year passes. Over the years, the problem hasn’t magically gone away (as politicians would doubtless like it to) but has snowballed and snowballed.
“There are over 12,000 bridges being used today, whose designs are similar to that of the I-35 bridge,” says LePatner. “And there are over 100,000 more that need detailed inspections to ensure their safety. The hard reality is that, as it stands now, there are no cheap or easy fixes for the infrastructure problem in the U.S., but every day they go unchecked our safety is at risk.”
What this really boils down to is that the bridge you cross on your way to work, the bridge your child’s school bus travels over, or the bridge that leads to your favorite vacation spot could fall. When you look at it that way, says LePatner, you realize that the years of neglect our politicians have allowed—and even encouraged—is akin to a criminal offense.
“The longer we wait to solve these problems the bigger they become,” says LePatner. “Not only is the public’s safety at risk on a day-to-day basis, but these broken bridges and the larger infrastructure problems they signal will also hurt America’s ability to compete in a global economy. What’s more, our crumbling infrastructure is also a national security threat that invites terrorists and those bent on disabling our nation’s economy to do their jobs in a much easier, more inviting way.”
Of course, there are no simple solutions. Now that we have a huge budget deficit and a recession waiting in the wings, LePatner worries that there is simply no money available to make significant repairs to the nation’s infrastructure. He theorizes that we may have to start with reform of the system—encompassing both the governmental and construction industry arenas—and that will come about only if citizens demand it.
“There absolutely has to be a national dialogue about what we are going to do about this huge and growing problem,” says LePatner. “And in order to create a dialogue, the people of this country have to demand that politicians take notice. At the moment, no one is talking about it. The presidential candidates are focusing all of their attention on the war, healthcare, and immigration. They don’t seem to want to discuss what to do about the infrastructure problem. We will have to make them take notice.
“Our politicians have forced us into the driver’s seat,” adds LePatner. “We, the citizens, must insist that our infrastructure problems are made a national priority. End of story. It’s crazy that things have been allowed to get to this point. It’s time we start holding our politicians accountable for their management, or mismanagement, of our money—and there is no better time to do that than election season! We need to start repairing our infrastructure, we need to do it in a financially responsible way, and we need to do it now. Let’s not wait until the next tragedy to get serious about it.”
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About the Author:
Barry B. LePatner, Esq., is the founder of the New York City-based law firm LePatner & Associates LLP. For three decades, he has been prominent as an advisor on business and legal issues affecting the real estate, design, and construction industries. He is head of the law firm that has grown to become widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading advisors to corporate and institutional clients, real estate owners, and design professionals.
A nationally recognized speaker, Mr. LePatner has addressed audiences on topics central to trends affecting the real estate industry at recent events including: “Real Estate Outlook,” an annual seminar series for corporate and real estate executives; “Protecting the Owner from Pitfalls in Today’s Construction Projects,” a series of Continuing Legal Education lectures given to law firms and their in-house real estate departments; “Protection, Survival, Readiness: Project Strategy in the Post 9/11 World,” a seminar presented to institutional, developer and corporate real estate executives; “Secure Space,” a building security seminar for corporate owners and developers; and “Marketing for Design Professionals” at the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Summer Program, with A. Eugene Kohn from1990-2004.
He has written extensively and is widely quoted in the media on the subject of construction law. Mr. LePatner has previously coauthored the legal sections of the Interior Design Handbook, McGraw-Hill, 2001, and Structural & Foundation Failures: A Casebook for Architects, Engineers & Lawyers, McGraw-Hill, 1982, coauthored with Sidney M. Johnson, P.E.
Recently published articles include “Construction Cost Increases: Owners Should Know the Difference Between the Myths and Realities,” New York Real Estate Journal, October 2006; and “Are You Prepared—Disaster Management Plans Help Owners Protect Their Investments” in the March/April 2006 issue of Commercial Investment Real Estate magazine. Articles published in the New York Law Journal include: “Caveat Advocatus—Drafting Construction Agreements for Your Client’s New Construction Project Ain’t What It Used to Be,” March 27, 2006. Since 1980, he has edited and published the LePatner Report, a quarterly newsletter on business and legal issues for the firm’s design, real estate, and construction clients.
About the Book:
Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets: How to Fix America’s Trillion-Dollar Construction Industry (The University of Chicago Press, October 2007, ISBN-13: 978-0-226-47267-6, ISBN-10: 0-226-47267-1, $25.00) is available at bookstores nationwide, from major online booksellers, and direct from the publisher at www.press.uchicago.edu.
For more information, please visit www.brokenbuildings.com.
Bridging the Gaps:
Six Solutions for Repairing the Nation’s Crumbling Infrastructure
The National Transportation Safety Board’s recent report on the Minneapolis I-35 bridge collapse provided a glimpse into just how dire the situation is with our nation’s infrastructure. The report only added to concerns that inspections are infrequent and insufficient, transportation funding is inadequate and improperly used, and the nation lacks the proper number of experts to fully examine the situation.
Construction attorney Barry B. LePatner says now is the time to redeem our former neglect. That means transforming the way we think about not only our nation’s infrastructure, but the nature of the construction industry itself. He offers the following six solutions:
* Establish a standardized nationwide system for categorizing the remediation needs of America’s infrastructure. Many problems with our nation’s infrastructure have resulted from the relaxing of inspection standards in recent years, says LePatner. As a result, different engineers can categorize structural problems differently, often for political reasons. For example, in a situation where a decision maker knows money for remediation is not available, lax standards make it possible for him to “dumb down” a report so that action will be deferred. The upshot is that the engineer reporting on bridge A might write it up as being in dire need of repairs because of early signs of corrosion. Meanwhile, bridge B—which is in far worse shape—might be put into a less urgent category.
“We need a strict nationwide standard for categorizing these remediation needs—at both state and federal levels—and for training inspection engineers,” notes LePatner. “That way we can assure uniformity of infrastructure assessments, and serious problems in bridges, tunnels, and highways will be more likely to be reported and dealt with.”
* Institute a national impetus for increasing the number of engineers and construction experts. Right now we’re woefully undermanned, says LePatner. America simply doesn’t have the structural engineers it needs to perform the overwhelming amount of remediation that must be done.
“I would like to see a national effort aimed at increasing the numbers of civil engineers and construction experts needed to address America’s infrastructure problem,” he says. “Think of it as a 21st century version of the 1950’s push for science education in the aftermath of Sputnik. We need to tell our young people that construction is an exciting and noble career, and strengthen those areas of our school system accordingly.”
* Ensure that tax dollars directed toward construction projects are spent wisely. This is frequently not the case, says LePatner. He reports that a meta-survey of the construction industry’s productivity analyses recently concluded that up to 50 percent of all money spent on construction labor is wasted because of late deliveries, poorly coordinated subcontractors, and other circumstances preventing employees from engaging in productive onsite work. These inefficiencies are due in large part to the inherent flaws in our nation’s $1.23 trillion construction industry, which LePatner calls “the last mom & pop industry in America.”
The solution, he says, involves reforming the way public officials work with contractors. For instance, they must:
-Insist on true fixed-price contracts. Standard contracts devised by members of the industry are generally insufficient as they a) fail to properly allocate risk among the parties, and b) provide proven loopholes for contractors to make claims for additional costs.
-Retain skilled, experienced onsite construction representatives with in-depth knowledge who can oversee not only quality, but the true cost for the work.
-Ensure that there are milestone dates for substantial completion and partial completion of remediation. Use both incentives and penalties to ensure timeliness.
üPurchase materials in bulk to leverage economies of scale.
“By implementing these suggestions even partially, our nation can save billions of dollars,” he insists.
* Overhaul the nation’s infrastructure inspection system. As it stands, bridge inspections are required only every couple of years, and because inspectors look only for visible cracks and corrosions, those inspections are superficial at best. Frighteningly, many bridges are still operating under their original load calculations. For example, when the I-35 bridge was constructed 40 years ago, calculations were made to determine the maximum load the bridge could hold, which includes considerations for the amount of traffic that would be using the bridge and also whether the bridge could accommodate heavy vehicles. But despite the fact that traffic volume increased over the years and renovations were made that added to the weight of the bridge, no new calculations were made to determine the load the bridge could safely hold under today’s conditions.
“What’s even more mind-boggling than the findings of the report is the fact that even after what they’ve found, the NTSB is still only recommending, not requiring, that bridge owners recalculate bridge loads periodically,” says LePatner. “The whole inspection system needs to be overhauled. And I think it should start with the NTSB making more stringent requirements for these bridge inspections and the federal and state governments doling out stiffer fines when bridges aren’t properly maintained. The problem won’t stop growing until we can get a hold on the inspection process.”
* Invest in the latest technology. The methods used to detect the cracks and corrosion in today’s bridges are insufficient. Most inspection methods cannot detect microscopic problems. But according to the Center for American Progress, wireless sensor technology exists that allows all aspects of a bridge to be examined from strain to temperature to seismic activity. Perhaps the best thing about the new sensors is that they can be attached or embedded on bridges so that a bridge’s condition can be monitored as frequently as necessary. “What this new technology can do is amazing,” says LePatner. “It will provide more frequent, more reliable information on our nation’s bridges, greatly reducing the likelihood of human error and conflicting reports on a bridge’s condition. Every state should use this technology to assess which bridges need immediate repairs.”
* Review the transportation funding process. With hundreds of billions of dollars needed to repair all of the problems in our nation’s infrastructure, every penny of funding that is doled out for transportation should be used wisely and appropriately. Unfortunately, that just doesn’t happen. Money has been stripped away from the transportation agencies, which need all of the funding they can get in order to get a handle on the country’s infrastructure problem. Add to that the fact that money given to the state governments by the federal government for transportation is often used for projects that may be more noticeable to taxpayers but does nothing for public safety. For example, a state government can use part of its transportation budget to beautify a park rather than buy new infrastructure inspection equipment or fund the repairs of a failing bridge.
“Money has to be earmarked specifically for infrastructure repairs on a state and local level,” says LePatner. “Politicians have to realize that these failing bridges are threatening citizens’ day-to-day safety, national security, and an already struggling economy. The costs will come due eventually whether they happen now or after the next major collapse. It’s time to be proactive.”
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