Bridges will fall apart like LEGO: scientists gave a dire prediction for the U.S. because of climate change

America's bridges, a quarter of which were built before 1960, have long been in need of repair. But now, engineers say, the intense heat and increased flooding associated with climate change are accelerating the decay of the nation's bridges, essentially causing them to age prematurely.

The result is a quiet but growing threat to the safe movement of people and goods in the country. It's also another example of how climate change is changing daily life in ways Americans may not realize, The New York Times reports.

On one hot day this summer, the Third Avenue Bridge in New York City, which connects the Bronx and Manhattan, was stuck open for hours. As heat and floodwaters scorched the Midwest, a steel railroad bridge connecting Iowa to South Dakota collapsed under the rushing waters. In Lewiston, Maine, a bridge closed because the sidewalk became covered from fluctuating temperatures.

"We have a bridge crisis that is specifically related to extreme weather events. This is not something that would have happened under normal climatic conditions. It's not something we've ever seen at this rate," comments Paul Chinowski, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder who studies the impact of climate change on infrastructure.

Bridges designed and built decades ago with materials not designed to withstand extreme temperature fluctuations are rapidly swelling and shrinking, leaving them weakened.

"The flints that hold concrete and steel together are getting so hot that these bridges can literally fall apart like a LEGO constructor," says Dr. Chinowski.

As this year's temperatures reached the highest temperatures ever recorded, much of the nation's infrastructure, from highways to runways, was affected. But bridges face special risks.

A study published in the journal PLOS ONE has found that extreme temperatures caused by climate change could cause one in four steel bridges in the United States to fail by 2050. Researchers say that by 2040, failures caused by extreme heat could require massive bridge repairs and closures.

Another study found that the effects of new levels of extreme heat are causing sidewalk deformation on U.S. bridges. Meanwhile, heavy precipitation associated with climate change is increasing the phenomenon of "bridge scour," the erosion of soil sediment around bridge foundations, which is the leading cause of bridge failure in the United States.

Scientists, engineers and government agencies are just now beginning to develop standards for how to build climate-resilient bridges, said Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. "We're learning from what's happening to us and trying to change and build for whatever climate change may throw our way in the future," he said.

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