The policy of aggressive suppression and few prescribed burns started around a century ago in CA, allowing fuel to build up and fires to become that much less controllable.
They're referring to the West Seattle Bridge, which was recently closed due to structural issues. It seems you're referring to the Alaskan Way Viaduct, which was also not structurally sound, but was replaced with a tunnel.
Addressed in more detail here: https://www.propublica.org/article/they-know-how-to-prevent-...