加载中…以明尼阿波利斯塌桥事故为鉴加强保护基础设施
(2012-05-29 13:15:18)
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杂谈 |
分类： 政治与经济 |
2012.05.25
密西西比河上的35号州际公路大桥是进出明尼阿波利斯的交通要道，在坍塌（左图）后得到重建（右图）。
美国国务院国际信息局（IIP）《美国参考》Kathryn McConnell从华盛顿报道，在2007年8月一个晴朗的夜晚，横跨密西西比河的一座公路大桥上车辆首尾相连，下班回家的人们纷纷驶离明尼阿波利斯市中心。有数十辆车开了过去，其中包括一辆载有60名儿童的校车。重型卡车以及用来维修这座30年之久的钢架大桥的材料停放在一侧桥头。
傍晚6点零5分，一共有8条车道的35号州际公路大桥倒塌，断裂成一块一块，并将车辆、混凝土和扭曲的金属物抛入64英尺之下的河水里。那辆校车悬在一块断裂的桥板上。
一名已经下班的明尼阿波利斯市消防队员立即穿上救生衣，跳进河里，在一条救生索的保护下在车堆里游来游去寻找幸存者。其他应急人员也和她一道将司机和乘客救出车辆并送到安全的地方。
共有13人死亡，145人受伤。由于校车司机迅速使用了车上的紧急制动装置，才使车上年幼的小乘客们幸免于难。
明尼苏达州联邦参议员艾米·克劳布克（Amy
Klobuchar)说：“一座桥不应该就这么塌下来。这尤其不应该发生在车辆运行量最大的桥梁之一，不应该发生在一个主要大都市中心的行车高峰时段。”她的家离大桥只有6个街区。
政府提供资金
克劳布克以及明尼苏达州的两位国会议员——时任参议员的诺姆·科尔曼（Norm Coleman)和时任众议员并担任众议院运输和基础设施委员会（House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee）主席的吉姆·奥博斯达（Jim Oberstar)——敦促美国国会调拨2.5亿美元应急资金，用以建造一座新的桥梁。
在美国，明尼苏达州等各个州有责任维护州际公路并确保地方道路的管理。联邦（国家）政府与各州及地方分担所需经费。维护道路和桥梁的经费来源包括联邦燃油税所得以及州和地方征收的各种税费。联邦基金是按照美国国会批准的方式分配的，国会有时通过法案，为特定的道路/桥梁工程出资。
明尼苏达州运输部发言人凯文·古特奈特（Kevin Gutknecht)说：“我们的目标是让新的桥梁尽快建成，以便开始恢复进程。”
根据州运输部的统计， 在大桥倒塌之前，每天有超过14万人驾车通过该桥。
上述3位民选议员与时任明尼苏达州州长的蒂姆·波伦蒂（Tim Pawlenty)以及明尼苏达州运输部和明尼阿波利斯市市长黎巴克（R.T. Rybak)一同合作筹集州和地方资金用于重建。
明尼阿波利斯是美国上中西部地区的明尼苏达州人口最多的城市。
重建
参与桥梁重建的有州运输部、明尼阿波利斯市、非营利的行业组织总承包商联合会（Associated General Contractors)和美国明尼苏达大学（University of Minnesota），这所大学在密西西比河两岸都有校园。在国家一级参与重建的有联邦公路管理局（Federal Highway Administration)、国家公园管理局（National Park Service)、美国海岸警卫队（Coast Guard)、美国陆军工程兵部队（U.S. Army's Corps of Engineers)和劳工部的职业安全与健康管理局（Occupational Safety and Health Administration)。
古特奈特说：“解决桥粱问题的愿望促使所有的政府实体齐心协力地向同一个方向努力。”
负责调查主要交通事故的联邦机构“国家运输安全委员会”（National Transportation Safety Board)认为，桥梁倒塌的原因可能是原建设单位的设计失误以及桥上的施工荷载。新闻报道还提到了一个可能造成损毁的原因：在桥的支撑梁上方堆积的酸性鸟粪。
市政府和大学合作，把倒塌的大桥旁边的一座小桥变成步行通道，让人们能够观看拆除旧桥残垣及建造新桥的过程。
汲取的教训
在塌桥事故发生13个月后，新大桥于2008年9月开通。该项目的高进度节省了纳税人的钱，并缩短了开车过桥的时间。
2009年，几个商业协会将这座桥梁重建工程选为当年美国10佳交通运输项目之一。
但该州从中汲取的最重要的教训是，对基础设施的定期保养事关重大。
新建的桥梁拥有世界上最大的防冰系统，还有323个传感器来跟踪观察桥粱承受车辆荷载的能力。
在事故发生5年后，参议员克劳布克仍在继续敦促国会增加拨款，用于维修和保养美国的道路和桥梁。
Read more:
http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/chinese/article/2012/05/201205256369.html#ixzz1wEUiJfsz
Minneapolis Disaster Teaches Infrastructure Lessons
By Kathryn McConnell | Staff Writer | 23 May 2012
The I-35 bridge over the Mississippi River, a commuter route into and out of Minneapolis, after it collapsed (left) and was rebuilt (right).
Washington — It was a clear August evening in 2007. Bumper-to-bumper cars took workers home over a bridge across the Mississippi River, heading out of downtown Minneapolis. Dozens of vehicles, including a school bus carrying 60 children, rolled by. Heavy trucks and materials being used to repair the 30-year-old steel structure were parked at one end of the bridge.
Then, at 6:05 p.m., the entire eight-lane bridge, called the I-35 bridge (for the Interstate 35 highway it carried) collapsed, breaking into sections and tossing vehicles, concrete and twisted metal into the river 64 feet below. The school bus balanced at the precipice of one section.
An off-duty Minneapolis firefighter immediately put on a life jacket, got into the river and, tethered by a life rope, swam among cars looking for survivors. Other responders joined her to help remove drivers and passengers from vehicles and get them to safety.
Thirteen people died, and 145 were injured. Quick action by the driver of the school bus to apply the vehicle’s emergency brake was credited with saving the lives of its young passengers.
“A bridge just should not fall down. Especially not one of the most heavily traveled bridges in the state and especially not at rush hour in the heart of a major metropolitan area,” said Amy Klobuchar, a U.S. senator from Minnesota, whose home is six blocks from the bridge.
NEW GOVERNMENT FUNDS
Klobuchar and two U.S. congressmen representing Minnesota — then-Senator Norm Coleman and then-Representative Jim Oberstar, who was head of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee — pressed the U.S. Congress for $250 million in emergency funds to build a new bridge.
In the United States, individual states like Minnesota are responsible for maintaining state highways and ensuring management of local roads. The federal (national) government shares the cost with states and localities. There is a federal fuel tax to generate revenue, and states and localities also use a variety of taxes and fees to maintain roads and bridges. Federal funds are allocated based on formulas approved by the U.S. Congress, and the Congress sometimes passes laws to pay for particular road/bridge projects.
“The goal was to get the new bridge in place as soon as possible to begin the healing process,” said Minnesota Department of Transportation spokesman Kevin Gutknecht.
At the time of the collapse, more than 140,000 motorists crossed the bridge daily, according to the state transportation department.
The three elected representatives worked with then–Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak to get state and local funding to rebuild.
Minneapolis is the most populous city in Minnesota, a state in the Upper Midwest of the United States.
REBUILDING
The process of rebuilding the bridge included the state Department of Transportation, the city of Minneapolis, the nonprofit trade group Associated General Contractors and the University of Minnesota, which has campuses on both sides of the river. At the national level were the Federal Highway Administration, the National Park Service, the Coast Guard, the U.S. Army's Corps of Engineers and the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“The desire to resolve the bridge situation helped pull all the government entities together and move in the same direction,“ Gutknecht said.
The National Transportation Safety Board — a federal body that investigates major transportation accidents — determined that the probable cause of the collapse was a design error by the original builders and construction loads on the bridge. News accounts cited a possible contributing cause of deterioration: accumulated, acidic bird droppings at the top of the bridge support beams.
The city and university worked together to make a walkway on a local bridge next to the fallen bridge so people could view the removal of old bridge rubble and the construction of the new bridge.
LESSON LEARNED
The new bridge opened in September 2008, 13 months after the collapse. The speed of the project saved taxpayers money and eased commuters’ travel time.
In 2009, several business associations selected the bridge replacement project as one of America’s 10 best transportation projects of the year.
But the most important lesson the state learned is that regular maintenance of infrastructure matters.
The new bridge has the world’s largest anti-icing systems and includes 323 sensors that track how the bridge manages traffic stresses.
Five years later, Senator Klobuchar continues to press the Congress to spend more to repair and maintain U.S. roads and bridges.
Read more:
http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2012/05/201205236208.html#ixzz1wEUtkyIT
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