GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- In the wake of the tragic Minneapolis, Minn. bridge collapse, the American public appears quite willing to authorize its elected representatives in Congress to spend over $100 billion to repair and rebuild bridges across the country. A new Gallup Poll shows that Americans have paid close attention to news about the I-35W bridge collapse, consider it to be indicative of broader problems with the nation's bridges rather than an isolated incident, and are personally worried about the safety of bridges over which they regularly travel. Those who are paying the closest attention to the story are most likely to express concern about driving over bridges and to view the Minneapolis collapse as a sign of broader problems rather than an isolated incident.
Systemic vs. Isolated Problem?
By a margin of 20 percentage points, Americans believe the Minneapolis bridge collapse is an indication of serious problems with the nation's transportation system rather than an isolated incident.
Additionally, 31% of Americans are following the story of the bridge collapse very closely, and another 47% are following it somewhat closely. This combined 78% following the news story either somewhat or very closely is well above the 60% average in the database of news stories Gallup has measured in this fashion over the last decade and a half.
Not surprisingly, those who are following the story most closely are significantly more likely than others to say that the bridge collapse is part of a broader problem.
New Legislation to Fix Bridges
As a result of Americans considering the bridge collapse in Minnesota indicative of a broader problem -- and the high level of attention being paid to the incident -- there is very little public resistance to the idea of spending tax money to fix bridges across the nation. More than 7 in 10 Americans favor passing legislation " … to spend over 100 billion dollars to repair and rebuild the nation's bridges … ", with just 22% opposing it.
Republicans are significantly less likely than Democrats to favor such legislation:
Impact on Daily Driving
It is difficult to tell just what the impact of the Minnesota bridge collapse will be on American drivers' psyche and/or willingness to drive, but the data from the weekend poll suggest that the majority of Americans are at least somewhat concerned about the safety of the bridges they drive over, including one-third who say they are very concerned.
Women are much more concerned about the safety of the bridges over which they drive than are men. Concern is lower in the West than in the other regions of the country.
Survey Methods
Results are based on telephone interviews with 1012 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Aug. 3-5, 2007. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
