Why Bridges Collapse (NOVA, 2019)

 

 

 

 

Why Bridges Collapse is a documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2019. 

 

It is an episode of the long-running program NOVA which is devoted to science and technology (season 46, episode 18). 

 

Here is some basic information about it:

 

** Director: Martin Gorst

** Narrator: Eric Myers

** Run time: 53 minutes

 

The main example presented and explored in the film is a bridge in Italy: the so-called Morandi Bridge in Genoa which collapsed in 2018. 43 people were killed and 15 were injured when a large section of the long bridge collapsed. 

 

A few cases in other countries are mentioned briefly in order to offer some background and perspective:

 

** A bridge in Berlin, Germany

** A bridge in London, the UK

** Other bridges in the US

 

Many persons are interviewed in the film. Here are the names (arranged by country):

 

ITALY

** Gianluca Ardini – a survivor

** Davide Capello – a survivor

** Francesco Cozzi – public prosecutor in Genoa

** Tullia Iori – a historian

** Camillo Nuti – an engineer

 

The US

** Richard Connors – a technical expert

** Jack Fowler – director of a local museum

** Peggy Huber - a survivor

** Kelly Kahle – a survivor

** Allison Premo Black – an expert on roads and bridges

** Sondra Reierson – a historian

 

The UK

** Sharan Gill – an engineer

** Jon Watson – an engineer

 

The official name of the Italian bridge was Viadotto Polcevera. But it was known as the Morandi bridge. It was named after the chief engineer, Riccardo Morandi (1902-1989).

 

Construction of the bridge began in 1963. It was completed in 1967. Here are a few additional details:

 

** How long was the bridge?

ANSWER = 1182 meters

** How high above the ground was the road deck?

ANSWER = 45 meters

** When did the bridge collapse?

ANSWER = On 14 August 2018

** When were the remains of the bridge destroyed?

ANSWER = On 28 June 2019

 

How and why did this bridge collapse without any warning? It seems one small flaw started a chain reaction which caused a large part of the bridge to collapse.

 

The technical term for this kind of problem is a single point failure. This happens when one small flaw starts a domino effect which causes a partial or total collapse of a bridge.

 

Modern bridges are designed and built with this in mind. Hopefully, a single point failure will not happen.

 

One small flaw somewhere may cause a minor problem, but it must not cause a partial and certainly not a total collapse of the bridge.

 

As stated above, there was no warning when the Morandi bridge collapsed. Can something similar happen with other bridges which were built in the 20th century? It is not impossible, perhaps even likely.

 

At the moment, more than 47,000 American bridges are registered as structurally deficient. But in most cases, they are not being repaired. Why not?

 

Because it is too expensive. There is no money to deal with this kind of problem. Neither federal funds nor state funds. 

 

Infrastructure must be maintained. It is obvious. It is common knowledge. But few politicians are eager to set aside money for maintenance. It seems boring. You do not win many votes by announcing that you want to set aside money to repair an old bridge. As a result, the problem is often ignored.

 

This film offers a serious look at an important issue. Who knows when and where the next bridge will collapse?

 

What do reviewers say about this film? On IMDb it has a rating of 78 per cent, which corresponds to four stars on Amazon.

 

On the US version of Amazon there are at the moment two ratings (but no reviews) of this product. Both ratings offer five stars.

 

I understand the positive ratings on Amazon and I agree with them. I think this film deserves a rating of five stars.

 

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The Morandi Bridge in 2010

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