Oklahoma is no stranger to dealing with structurally deficient bridges. According to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT), in 2004, a full 17% of the state’s highway system bridges were classified as structurally deficient. As of 2018, that number is down to 1.9%. But, that doesn’t include bridges maintained by cities and counties.
How can new engineering technology can be used to protect a bridges infrastructure to prevent failure? That’s the subject of NOVA: Why Bridges Collapse, airing at 8 p.m., Oct. 16 on the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA).
Why Bridges Collapse examines the 2018 collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Italy. The iconic Morandi Bridge had stood for 50 years, through the outside elements and the increasing stress of traffic. Its collapse killed 43 people.
But, what went wrong? And how can new technology keep it from happening again? This episode of NOVA puts together eyewitness testimony, expert interviews and dramatic archival footage to investigate this, and other deadly bridge collapses.
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