Shaken to pieces

The damage, again, could have been much worse. But the state had upgraded many of its bridges in recent years. For example, the reconstruction of I-15 before the 2002 Olympics replaced many older, less-safe bridges with structures of modern design considered much more earthquake resistant.

But Eixenberger noted in 2006 that about half of the state's bridges still were built in the 1960s and '70s, well before seismic considerations were developed and added to building codes. They were built mostly as part of the interstate freeway system.

The state could not afford to replace or upgrade all of them at the same time, especially when growing areas were also pushing for other new and wider roads. Eixenberger said the state did seismic upgrades when possible with other widening and renovation projects.

He said projects such as the new Legacy Parkway added redundancy to the transportation system, to offer detours around problems from the quake on I-15. The state also hoped it would have allowed work to replace more older I-15 bridges by making a detour available to speed such work.

Of course, the earthquake hit before all such hoped-for work could be completed.

TUESDAY: How utilities fare — and how residents will need to provide their own water, fuel, food and other help for far longer than most ever thought.

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E-mail: lee@desnews.com