The Bridge Collapse in Minnesota

The story from Wednesday's collapse of a major bridge in Minnesota brought some predictable responses. The 24/7 media tried to play the story 97 different ways with drama attached to each. Matt Lauer was especially impressive. On Today yesterday he had flown to the site of the disaster and he kept emphasizing that the number of lives lost would surely increase. For some reason he stuck on the number 30 - even when in one transition the experts came back and reduced the original estimate.

But NBC also seemed to want to tell us, as the rest of the media did, how deteriorated our bridges and highways are. The Washington Post in a story this morning for example characterized the problem like this "a national highway system rapidly deteriorating under the strain of ever-increasing traffic volume and inadequate upkeep" and then attributed the judgment to "experts." Indeed there are more people driving on a road system which has not grown significantly over the last several decades. The standards of maintenance of roads has also deteriorated in the last few decades - caused in part by the increased traffic and in part by a change in priorities.

But the real question here should be to find the right balance. We as a people have made, through our elected representatives, some choices over the years that are different from when the highway system was constructed. We are spending more on people related projects including transfers. There is a finite supply of resources. But the science may also have changed a bit with a better understanding of what can be done. Many states have also robber transportation funds to pay for other kinds of things. But those questions won't get examined.

Don't get me wrong. If the Minnesota and federal officials were neglectful of their public safety responsibilities they should be held accountable. But this should not be transformed into an opportunity to argue for massive new commitments to "infrastructure", especially that directed by government bureaucracies. As we learned in California after the Northridge earthquake, the private sector offers superior capabilities in building and repairing our "infrastructure" at a much more cost effective rate.