The concept of "cutting corners" is difficult to define.

Good engineering is not about pouring as much concrete as possible into the largest hole ever made by mankind, for every bridge pillar.

It's the opposite! Good engineering is finding the minimum amount of concrete that will hold the bridge under all possible foreseeable circumstances.

Yes, sometimes the minimum proves too short, and in those times the failures are often catastrophic. But we're still looking for that minimum. We're never looking for "maximum safety with no regard for anything else". That would be impossible.