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How Did The I-35 Bridge Collapse

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In this paper, I am going to use Utilitarianism to analyze the collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis. The I-35W Bridge was the main route that commuters used to cross the Mississippi River (Fleddermann 113). When the bridge collapsed, “thirteen people were killed and 145 people were injured” (Fleddermann 113). The National Transportation and Safety Board and the Federal Highway Administration conducted an investigation into what might have caused the collapse and found that the gusset plates used to fasten the steel beams together were half of the required thickness to support the weight of the bridge. The best solution to this case will be the solution that produces the most pleasure and the least amount of pain. The I-35 Bridge case …show more content…

I will use these seven elements to analyze the benefits and harms of the decision to use a thinner gusset plate to support the steel beams of the I-35W Bridge. Each component will be scored on a scale from -10 to 10. The negative values will represent pain values and positive numbers will represent pleasure values. After both sides of the case are analyzed, the values will be added together and compared in magnitude in order to determine whether the decision that the company took provided more pleasure than pain. I will look at the benefits of the decision first. The intensity of using a thinner gusset is a 6 because I think that the company would feel pretty good about saving money on a project in order to increase their profits. The intensity value would not be higher than 6 because all companies make and lose money, therefore is would not have a huge intensity. The duration of this pleasure would be a 5 because all companies earn and lose money so on a big project, I would think that the duration would be a month or so until the company is on to their next project. The certainty that the company would immediately increase their profits by spending less on thicker gusset plates is a 7. The company would

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