Kai Risdahl

Complicated?

Quite definitely.

Alex Olgin has more.

Two years ago, after that container ship brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the National Transportation Safety Board had a good long look at other bridges around the country that it was worried could face similar risk.

All in, it found 34 such bridges that it identified as critical to the U.S.

transportation network.

The Lewis and Clark Bridge on the Columbia River in Longview, Washington, is one of them.

Part of a huge inland river network that takes grain and mineral exports out to the global economy.

Our story comes from Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman.

This final note on the way out today, selected anecdotes from today's Beige Book.

That is, of course, the Federal Reserve's eight times a year survey of the various regions of this economy.

From the Minneapolis Fed, a person running a hospitality company said consumer spending has been flat and that given fuel prices and, quote, the cold shoulder Canadians are giving us, I'm not very optimistic.

Also from Minneapolis, companies with younger workers, it seems, are switching to staycations over vacations because of fuel prices.

On the other hand, though, this from the Atlanta Fed, higher income consumers drove strong demand for premium goods and services, with one contact describing a focus on, and this is a quote, unapologetic luxury.

K-shaped economy indeed, huh?

Our media production team includes Brian Allison, John Foche, Montana Johnson, Drew Johnston, Gary O'Keefe, and Charlton Thorpe.

Alex Simpson is the manager of media production.

And I'm Kai Risdahl.

We will see you tomorrow, everybody.

This is APM.