A key to preventing tragedies like the Minnesota bridge collapse is surveillance, says Aging Infrastructures, a company that’s a division of Sensible Security, which sets up cameras and monitoring systems like GPS to gauge the health of things like bridges, road and other structures. The market might become a growth sector in the wake of the tragedy.

Fiber Optic Systems Technology already markets sensors that can monitor the progress of corrosion and structure strain, and allow engineers to calculate the future point of failure.

The systems are far more sophisticated than what Aging Infrastructures offers, but the systems also cost thousands of dollars. The main customers are oil companies. Government transportation agencies have had trouble with budgets.