October 29, 2007

Bart Andersen tells members of Congress that the nation’s bridges need fixing, and urged them to fund a federal program to get the job done.

Photo Credit:

Rick Reinhard

Bart Andersen, a Minnesota bridge inspector and president of Department of Transportation Local 2792 (AFSCME Council 5), told members of Congress this week that the state’s transportation system “is broken,” and urged lawmakers to support a new national bridge inspection and maintenance program.

Andersen said the work of ensuring that Minnesota’s 14,000 aging bridges are safe is too much for the state’s 77 full-time “level two” inspectors – the only ones trained to inspect and analyze bridges. “Our two biggest problems are the lack of staff and the lack of funds to do bridge work,” Anderson testified Oct. 23 at a hearing before the Highways and Transit subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The panel is examining highway bridge safety issues brought to national attention on Aug. 1 when the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis, built in 1967, collapsed into the Mississippi, killing 13 people.

The committee’s chairman, Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), wants to temporarily raise federal gas taxes to 23.4 cents a gallon (up from 18.4 cents) to generate about $25 billion over three years for a new bridge inspection and maintenance program.

AFSCME supports the proposal, but wants Congress to also provide the same 80-20 match for maintenance that it provides for new construction. Moreover, Congress should insist on accountability for how federal bridge money is spent by state departments of transportation.

Council 5 members had repeatedly warned that Minnesota’s transportation department was under-funded and understaffed, but their warnings were disregarded.