By 2050, extreme heat could cause 1 in 4 steel bridges to collapse, according to a study from Colorado State University.
Fluctuations in temperature, humidity and moisture are causing the joints and beams that hold bridges together to expand and contract rapidly, said lead researcher Hussam Mahmoud, a civil engineer and professor at Colorado State.
“If we continue to progress along a very severe climate warming, then we would have major problems,” said Mahmoud, adding that most bridges were not designed to handle a fast-warming climate.
Mahmoud’s study modeled the climate impacts on 80,000 steel bridges across the country. He found the bridges facing the highest risk of heat-related collapse were in the Northern Rockies and Plains, Upper Midwest and the Northwest.
Extreme heat isn’t the only threat. Bridges are also increasingly threatened by heavy rainfall and floods, which can wash away their foundations. In fact, studies show the erosion of soil sediment around bridge foundations, which is called “bridge scour,” is the leading cause of bridge failure in the U.S.
The federal government is working to address the problem. It’s spending more than $100 billion on repairing and building bridges and roads to be resilient to extreme weather.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The photo included in this story is licensed under Flickr Creative Commons.
