The total problem of bridge building today and certainly in the future is linked to the highway and freeway systems. Greater Cleveland is backward in its long-range planning for improvements and beautification of the inner city. We need to know the transportation needs, traffic patterns, and modes of transportation estimated for the next ten years, but no such study seems to be underway. Curiously enough, the age of a bridge is not the chief reason for decay. Like many other structures, the primary problem is proper maintenance.
Public safety demands eliminating hazardous structures.
However it must be admitted that the major problem facing us now and in the future is the economic one. Money for repairs and maintenance are often harder to obtain than money for new structures. The Bridge Responsibility Act of the State Legislature provided inspection but no money. Bridges are never half safe. The local governmental agencies are much too deeply infested by politics to be effective.