Smola & Panik
Panik
Smola, have you seen the old rail bridge over the river lately? That support beam is sagging like a tired old man, and every time the wind hits it the whole thing creaks. I’m thinking it’s a perfect example of how neglect writes its own architecture. What do you think, can we pull it back together or is it just a story in concrete?
Smola
I’ve checked it out. That beam’s sagging, but it’s not dead. We can jack it up, bolt on some steel plates, and set a temporary support while we pull the whole thing back up. If the damage’s worse than that, it’s a story in concrete, not a thing we can save. Either way, you can’t just leave it hanging.
Panik
Yeah, a quick jack and some plates could buy us a window to fix it. But if the core’s rotten, we’re just patching a coffin. Still, you can’t just let it hang like a forgotten billboard. Let’s see if the stress lines line up with what the old engineer left behind, and if it’s only a matter of shoring up the frame, maybe we can swing it back into shape before the next storm. If not, we might just be writing a new chapter in that city’s decay.
Smola
Sounds good. Get the stress sheets and the old plans. If the core’s still solid enough, we’ll lift it, plate it, and run it back. If not, we’ll call it quits before the next gust blows it off. No point in keeping a dead bridge alive.