> “If the engineer sees somehting like a bridge containing fatigue cracks, or even unsafe stress levels, his duty is to inform both the exec and the public, because it’s public property and safety involved.”
That is exactly what is done now. The reports that they are finally digging up now state the condition and are a matter of public record. There are something like 70,000 or something bridges in the US that have lower ratings than this one. My local newspaper just published the ratings of several nearby bridges. Do you think they would waste one line of print on that before this? Your belief it the integrity and rationality of politicians is touching. I have not had that experience. They really, really are slime.