Are you concerned with the safety of your local bridges? Well, don't ask the Transportation Department to show you their safety reports. In an interview with the Chattanooga Times-Free Press, Terry Leatherwood, manager of the department's structure, inventory, and appraisal offfice, said, "Bridge inspecting is a technical area; without the technical expertise to interpret [the reports] things could get taken out of context...and used against the department." Leatherwood continued by saying, "You wouldn't want Information about a bridge to get out after 9/11....groups like al-Qaeda could get it. If they know where to put explosivbes it's a dangerous thing." Like if they put them on a bridge, perhaps?
TDOT spokesoman Luanne Grandinetti's respnse was in line with Leatherwood, though her reasoning for keeping bridsge information a secret was not quite so specific. "How much do you know about the terrorism stuff?" she asked. So much for context.
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