South Dakota's 'Singing Bridge' damage emblematic of failing infrastructure

In South Dakota infrastructure suffers to prop up the state's retirement system.

The 'Singing Bridge' was built in 1963 across the Grand River where it meets the Missouri River and on Feb. 20 the South Dakota Department of Transportation closed it because of observed failures after girders contracted at one pier cap and damaged a pillar due to the recent extreme cold temperatures. 

According to Jeanne Weigum, in the “bad old days” those wanting to get to Mobridge from Wakpala or from homesites on that side of the river, if they did not want to drive “the long way,” would either drive through the shallow Grand River or drive on the ice in the winter. It is about three-fourths of a mile long and part of the three-bridge combination that gave Mobridge its designation. According to Jeanne, the bridge got its unique moniker, The Singing Bridge, because when it was first built it made a distinct and spooky humming sound when you drove over it. My dad would make up stories about the spirits singing to us as we crossed the bridge. It was a part of my childhood. [KATIE ZERR: ‘Singing Bridge’ is vital to community]

In 2020 South Dakota was 4th in the US in the number of structurally deficient bridges at 17 percent and 10th in the percentage of structurally deficient bridge deck area. So, at a price of some $50 million the red moocher state chose an Iowa builder to replace the bridge across the Missouri River between Fort Pierre and the cesspool on the east side. Built in 1962, it was deemed the existing span is structurally deficient and functionally obsolete. Maybe it will open by 2023. 

As Spring ice floes bash bridge piers and flooding scours fill from river bottoms the disasters befalling the Missouri basin should be a stern warning to erstwhile pipeline operators: it's not nice to fool Mother Nature. 

Read more about South Dakota's failing bridges linked here.

Four in 10 general revenue dollars South Dakota spends comes from the federal government, ranking the state near the top for percentage of federal support according to The Tax Foundation, a non-partisan research think tank - the third highest percentage of all states in the US

— John Fung (@cuttingman_fung) December 28, 2020