Engineering education sometimes means learning from mistakes. In the case of the Minneapolis bridge, engineers must discover clues to its collapse and prevent similar disasters. The Engineering Pathway has related engineering resources on bridge failures, safety and design, include a presentation on the Cooper River Bridge by Anthony Ingraffea of Cornell University and an interview with Ingraffea from the PBS Online Newshour. The Cooper River Bridge, the longest cable stay span in North America, opened in Charleston, South Carolina in 1992.

The spans of the Cooper River Bridge have a distinctive diamond shape.