National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act of 2008

NATIONAL HIGHWAY BRIDGE RECONSTRUCTION AND INSPECTION ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - July 23, 2008)

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Mr. ELLISON. A tragedy is indeed a terrible thing to waste. Whenever a tragedy befalls us, it does not do proper justice and honor to the victims of that tragedy to not learn from it and to do better into the future.

As the world knows, the tragic collapse of the Interstate 35 bridge occurred in the Fifth Congressional District, my home district, less than a year ago on August 1, 2007. During the evening rush hour, the Interstate 35 bridge collapsed, 13 Minnesotans lost their lives and over 100 individuals were injured.

It has been widely reported that the 35W bridge was ``structurally deficient.'' Even more disturbing is that according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, one of every eight bridges across the Nation is structurally deficient.

In my home State of Minnesota, about 10 percent of our 13,000 bridges are rated structurally deficient, so the problem of structurally deficient bridges and deficient bridges is a real issue to me and my constituents. It could and should be yours as well.

Investing in our infrastructure and fixing our Nation's bridges demands our attention today so that our communities across the Nation can be spared the trauma that my district and my State had to bear last August.

I am proud to be a cosponsor of H.R. 3999. This legislation strengthens the inspection requirements and standards on our Nation's bridges. It requires that all Americans involved in bridge inspections receive appropriate training.

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