Minnesota Bridge Collapse

I received a link containing closeup pictures of the I-35W bridge collapse, courtesy of the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers. Keeping the victims in our thoughts and prayers, we need to ask the question, "How can we prevent similar tragedies in the future ?". The transportation infrastructure in the US faces enormous challenges everyday. Of the 597,340 highway bridges in the US, a significant number, 73,784 (12.35%) are listed as structrually deficient. (Bureau of Transportation Statistics). I hope the powers-in-question pay some serious attention to this issue.