Thoughts on the bridge collapse
----and specifically the "bumpers" at the base of the piers.
Clearly they were inadequate, that is not arguable. They are also said (Engineering News Record) to be compliant with the code in place at the time of construction. Clearly the code was inadequate.
Many (most?) such bumpers are a modified oval shapes which will help deflect any ship coming in contact with them. The energy required to deflect a ship is far less than required to stop a ship. Also many (most?) bumpers extend away from the piers much further than the small square bumpers in this case. That extension is critical. Simply look at the bow of a ship, which extends far out from the water line----where the bumper is. That means the upper bow will contact the pier before the lower bow contacts the bumper, rendering the bumper useless.
Clearly the engineers should have known better and it is also possible that if they did they were overruled by the "owners". 
May we learn from this avoidable tragedy.
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
"Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis
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...Ben
