Sep 19 2007
Claims have emerged that the Minnesota bridge collapse was caused by neglect with its roots tied firmly to pidgeons, pedestrians and pedal power.
Recent reports suggesting that the August 1, 2007, Minnesota bridge collapse was due to excessive pigeon droppings is ridiculous, according pigeon experts, Deter-a-Pigeon.
"Inspectors began documenting the buildup of pigeon dung on the span near downtown Minneapolis over two decades ago. Therefore, for over 20 years, bridge inspectors have sat back and watched pigeons roosting on the bridge. It is these inspectors who should have spotted any corrosion and acted accordingly with effective pigeon control," comments Dave Jones, Director of Deter-a-Pigeon. "To suddenly blame the pigeons for their incompetence stinks of a cover up," Jones continues.
In a 1987-1989 report, inspectors for the bridge wrote "There is a coating of pigeon dung on steel with nest and heavy buildup on the inside hollow box sections."
Deter-a-Pigeon would like to put on record that the cause for the bridge collapse was neglect. "If the bridge inspectors had installed pigeon spikes when they noticed excessive pigeon droppings, the spikes would have deterred the pigeons from roosting and thus would have preventing the build up of droppings. This catastrophe could have been avoided with aggressive preventative maintenance," Jones concludes.
Bush appointee and Secretary of Transportation, Mary Peters, agrees that neglect was the cause of the collapse but she has a different take on what led to the neglect. According to a Salon report she places the blame on the collapse with "greedy bicyclists and pedestrians, not to mention museumgoers and historic preservationists". He belief is that these sectors recieve too much funding and she doesn't see "biking and walking paths as part of transportation infrastructure at all".