In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Hussam Mahmoud discuss the vulnerability of bridges to climate change. When we think about climate-related disasters, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires come to mind. Probably the last thing we think about is a bridge collapsing, but we should. With over half a million bridges in the US, each with a life expectancy of 75 years, it is more important than ever to consider the role of climatic factors on bridge stability. Dr. Mahmoud discusses how flooding, extreme temperatures, erosion, and extreme heat are affecting the bridges and he emphasizes the need for proactive inspection and maintenance to mitigate these risks.

 

 Key Takeaways:

• There are approximately 600,000 bridges across the US. Of the long-span bridges, there are about 6,000. Many of these bridges are old, some are in poor condition, and all are affected by climate change. 

• Owing to the passenger and huge amount of industrial traffic crossing bridges, a collapse could cost trillions of dollars to the economy.

• Bridges are built for a life span of about 75 years, with proper maintenance and care. There was a bridge-building boom in the 1960s and earlier - and the majority were built over 50 years ago.

 

"Generally speaking, bridges are relatively very safe. Even if you lose an element or something that is carrying the load ends up breaking or cracking, bridges are phenomenal in being able to redistribute the load and figure out how to carry the load with the remaining elements." —  Dr. Hussam Mahmoud

Connect with Dr. Hussam Mahmoud:

Professional Bio: https://www.engr.colostate.edu/~hmahmoud/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hussam-mahmoud-4b16754 

 

 

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: [email protected]

 

 

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