In August 2007, the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis collapsed, killing 13 people and injuring 145 others. Investigations following the tragedy revealed that it was not an unavoidable accident, but one that could have been prevented--and one that threatens to be repeated at many thousands of bridges located across the nation. Already more than 50 percent of our bridges are past their intended lifespan. Using the I-35W Bridge as a starting point, LePatner chronicles the problems that led to that catastrophe--poor bridge design, shoddy maintenance, ignored expert recommendations for repair, and misallocated funding--and then explores the responses to the tragedy, including the NTSB document which failed to report the full story to our nation.
From here LePatner evaluates what the I-35W Bridge collapse means for the country as a whole--outlining the possibility of a nationwide infrastructure breakdown. He exposes government failure on a national as well as state level, uncovering how our nation's transportation system prioritizes funding for new projects over maintenance funding for aging infrastructure. He explains the imperatives for why we must maintain an effective infrastructure system, and how it plays a central role in supporting both our nation's economic strength and our national security.
Written both for those who can effect change and for those who must demand it, Too Big to Fall presents an eye-opening critique of a bureaucratic system that has allowed political best interests to trump those of the American people.
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The deadly collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis awakened Americans to the perils of our aging infrastructure, but as LePatner points out, it was a disaster years in the making. In this painstaking analysis of both the Minneapolis tragedy and other structural failures, he reveals that government failures at every level have resulted in our reliance on roads and bridges that were never designed to sustain the volume of traffic we now generate. Politics plays a huge part here, but so does the problem of keeping the public interested in a vital yet dull subject. Citing Willa Cather’s Alexander’s Bridge, LePatner points out that “engineers were once a type of American cultural hero.” Poems were written about them; they remade the landscape and transformed the country. That was the era of “steel and concrete,” however, when expansion was the story that mattered. LaPatner makes it clear that today’s problems of management and maintenance are just as important, and require a similar commitment. Detailed and determined, this is a call to arms ignored at our own peril. --Colleen Mondor
Review
"This well-researched book on the US's failure to maintain its bridges and highways straddles political advocacy and scholarly work. . . . The chapters on the history of highway funding in the US, public-private partnerships, and the causes of systemic failures to maintain what has been built are excellent. . . . [This is] an excellent book for students and professionals, which one hopes will heighten the sense of urgency to increase funding for highway and bridge maintenance. There is no comparable book. The index and 37 pages of endnotes are excellent. Highly recommended."--Choice
"This book offers professional and armchair engineers a wealth of history to place future road failures in perspective."--Seattle Times
Barry B. LePatner is founder of the New York City-based law firm LePatner & Associates LLP. He is author of Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets: How to Fix America's Trillion-Dollar Construction Industry (University of Chicago Press, 2007, ISBN: 978-0-2264726-7-6, $25.00, www.BarryLePatner.com) and Too Big to Fall: America's Failing Infrastructure and the Way Forward (University Press of New England, 2010, ISBN: 978-0-9844978-0-5, $27.95, www.TooBigToFall.com).
He recently launched www.SaveOurBridges.com, a site educating the public on the perilous state of the nation's infrastructure. The site includes an interactive map pinpointing the most dangerous bridges in the U.S.
For three decades, Mr. LePatner has been prominent as an advisor on business and legal issues affecting the real estate, design, and construction industries. He is recognized as one of the nation's leading advisors to corporate and institutional clients, real estate owners, and design professionals. Mr. LePatner has also been awarded the distinction of Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers magazine. In 2009, he was rated as one of the top ten real estate attorneys in New York City by the New York Observer.
A November 2007 Governing magazine article stated, "If there's a guru of construction industry reform, it's LePatner." In November 2008, an article in New York magazine referred to Mr. LePatner as "a Cassandra of infrastructure."
Mr. LePatner is recognized as a thought leader in the construction industry. As the coauthor of Structural and Foundation Failures (McGraw-Hill, 1982) and with 35 years of experience as a construction lawyer, he brings a special understanding of the engineering, business, and legal issues attendant to the design and construction processes--knowledge he put to good use in his latest book, Too Big to Fall. His second book, Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets, was very well received inside and outside the construction industry and helped create a national debate among owners, designers, and other key stakeholders.
Mr. LePatner has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, the Boston Globe, the New York Times, Forbes.com, the Chicago Tribune, Infrastructurist.com, and other prestigious publications. His articles and speeches on the perilous state of our nation's infrastructure have garnered widespread attention, including his serving as a commentator on the multi-billion-dollar stimulus plan of the Obama administration. He has appeared on many television and radio broadcasts, including interviews on CNBC, Fox Business Network, and several National Public Radio segments.
A nationally recognized speaker, Mr. LePatner has addressed audiences on topics central to the real estate and construction industries, including events sponsored by the International Economic Forum of the Americas, Syracuse University, and several construction industry associations with audiences including contractors, architects, engineers, construction technology experts, economic experts, and other construction industry thought leaders.
In 2002, Mr. LePatner was honored by the American Institute of Architects with its highest award to a non-architect when he was given an honorary AIA membership. He is also currently on the Board of Trustees of the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA). He has also served on numerous advisory committees including: the Advisory Board, Society for Marketing Professional Services; the Board of the New York Building Congress; Board of Advisors, Legal Briefs for the Construction Industry; American Institute of Architects Advisory Committee; and the National Academy of Sciences.
Too Big to Fall is too important not to be read by elected and government officials and anyone who cares about the health of our cities, states, and country. LePatner, by concentrating on a major element of public works--our country's 600,000 bridges, brings into focus the causes and solutions that, if followed, in the long run would actually cost less and expose us to less risk. The release of this book could not be more timely. Thousands of local and state officials are facing record deficits. The easiest areas to cut are the nearly invisible activities of preventive maintenance. No large constituencies will be marching on city halls or statehouses to clamor to save the jobs of bridge painters or oilers. But now at least government public works managers and citizens have the source to educate elected officials and their bean counters in the penny-wise-pound-foolish choice of cutting maintenance now, only to face bigger costs and higher risks in just a few years. I was in charge of New York City's bridges after the fiscal crisis of the 1970s. On my watch in the 1980s, we had fatal collapses on the Brooklyn Bridge and the elevated FDR drive, as well as emergency closures of more than a score of other bridges. LePatner offers us a better choice. --Sam Schwartz, Sam Schwartz Engineering
We need $2.2 trillion to fix our existing infrastructure, as well as reform of how we make choices. ('Look-good' and new projects are over-funded relative to basic maintenance.) We also need a more reliable system of managing and contracting for those projects, says the author.
The main character within the book is the I-35W bridge that collapsed in 2007. Turns out it had been identified as deficient for 16 straight years. The 'second main character' is bridges in general. As for water and sewer lines, power distribution, etc. - those topics are just not addressed.
Interesting to learn that only after the I-35W bridge collapsed did Gov. Palenty drop his opposition to raising the state's gas tax. Thus, he must share a significant portion of the blame. Further, in 2003, he appointed his Lt. Gov. as Highway Commissioner, creating a political environment that replaced its prior professional focus. (Squeezing maintenance until a disaster occurs is not good leadership, and in my opinion should disqualify Palenty for any further office.)
Private funding of maintenance brings increased conflict over whether enough maintenance is being performed, and whether it is being done properly. (Creating toll roads adds overheads for toll collections.)
Visual inspections of bridges are not standardized - the results vary widely between inspectors. Inadequate training is also a common problem.
Barry LePatner has emerged as one of the nation's leading advocates for infrastructure reform. Too Big to Fall provides a thought-provoking examination of America's infrastructure dilemma. It is eye-opening and sobering. Hopefully this work will resonate with those in authority to heighten their sense of urgency to aggressively address this threat to our nation's future. Gary La Point Assistant Professor, Supply Chain Management, Syracuse University
