I'm always joking with my husband about driving. He drives the scenic and I drive the highway. But I'm beginning to rethink my routine and I can't help but wonder, how safe are our bridges in Connecticut?

It's only been two weeks since the Interstate-35w bridge fell crashing into the water during evening rush hour in Minneapolis. Cars, trucks, huge sections of concrete fell into the Mississippi River off this bridge that streched between St. Paul and Minneapolis. Construction workers were working on the bridge when it collasped.

According to news reports, vehicles were stacked on top of each other. I remember seeing photos of a school bus, cars, trucks on fire, people being carried from the riverbanks. The count of the dead, as of Friday is at seven, with as many as 100 injured. At least six people are still missing. A week later, the FBI and Navy divers continued searching for victims in this wreckage.

This tragedy made me think about our bridges in Connecticut, remembering how on June 28, 1983, the Mianus River Bridge collasped on I-95 in Greenwich. When this happened, it was in the early morning hours.

Three people were killed and three were seriously hurt when a 100-foot section fell into the Mianus River.

The bridge was only 25 years old. I can still remember pictures on the front page of the newspaper of tractor-trailer wreckage. The questioned asked: Why did the bridge collaspe will all the steel and concrete with the weight of two

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tractor-trailer trucks and a couple of cars? Acording to the National Transportation Safety Inspectors, bridges give warnings. When you see them shaking or vibrating, those are red flags. Did anyone notice the warnings?

That collaspe was particularly scary to me, because just a few days before, my husband, my kids and I had traveled across it on our way to North Carolina.

Have you ever been afraid of a bridge falling while driving across it? Are there any bridges you feel unsafe driving across? I have!

I was so happy when the old Sikorsky Bridge was completely changed.

And, I can't wait for the Moses Wheeler Bridge, which conects Milford and Stratford, to be completely repaired.

When I drive across that bridge, I ask myself, " Is this bridge going to collaspe too?" According to the state's Department of Transportation, the Moses Wheeler Bridge is listed as the state's worst bridge.

There are 151 bridges in Fairfield and New Haven counties that have been rated as structurally deficient, according to the 2006 National Bridge Inventory.

These statistics are frighting. I'm just hoping the DOT keeps our bridges safe for our commuters and prevent another tragedy. Maybe I should become a scenic route driver, too, just like my husband, at least until the Moses Wheeler Bridge is fixed. The scenic route may be the longest way, but maybe it's the safest.

MARVA HAMILTON is the librarian at the Connecticut Post. She can be reached at mhamilton@ctpost.com