POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — When the Silver Bridge collapsed on Dec. 15, 1967, 46 motorists lost their lives in an instant. The cause was one critical failure — a corroded eyebar link — and the result was sweeping change. Just months later, the federal government enacted the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968, launching a national bridge inspection program. That act has saved countless lives ever since.
Today, America spends billions each year on bridge safety. Routine inspections of more than 600,000 bridges cost between $4,500 and $10,000 per span. Beyond inspections, about $14.4 billion annually goes toward repairing, rehabilitating or replacing bridges because we know the cost of letting one fail.
But here’s the thing: We do not see people as bridges. We do not have a national program to inspect lives for cracks caused by addiction, isolation or trauma. We do not measure how many people die when they “fall apart,” or how many families are irreparably harmed by an overdose or a long, spiraling addiction.
The truth is stark. The federal budget for addiction prevention, treatment and recovery is a fraction of what we spend on physical infrastructure. In 2024, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) received roughly $8.9 billion for the entire country, covering all substance use prevention, treatment and recovery services combined. Within that, prevention programs often receive only a small slice. In some states, less than 10% of substance use budgets are spent on prevention and early intervention. The rest goes toward treatment after the damage has already been done.
If we treated human beings like bridges, we would make prevention our first priority. We would have systems in place to regularly inspect for signs of strain: mental health screenings, peer recovery support, community outreach and easy, stigma-free access to help. These strategies cost far less than emergency interventions after a crisis, and they save lives.
We know what happens when we neglect maintenance. We have seen it in steel and concrete. The Silver Bridge taught us that prevention is not optional; it is lifesaving.
We have proven as a nation that when something collapses in public view, we will spend whatever it takes to make sure it never happens again. We did it for bridges. The question is: When will we decide that people deserve the same investment?
Bridges get inspected. People should too.
By Contributor: Andrew Littlefield
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