[gambiting]

Well like the article points out - even that outrageous cost of 250M is nothing compared to the national budget. We as a country could easily afford it - but this is the second part of the whole problem, not just that things are expensive, but that no one is willing to actually sign off on any solution, so we just end up with the default of doing absolutely nothing. In a way it would have been better if the bridge actually collapsed(with no injuries to anyone, of course) because then it would have been much easier to replace it or repair it. Right now it's usable at least somewhat so there's all kinds of reasons why nothing should be done(money being just one of them).