U.S. infrastructure spending has plummeted

[marmar]

from the WaPo:



Not surprisingly, the collapse of a bridge along Interstate 5 in Washington state yesterday has revived the long-standing debate over whether Congress should spend more to repair the nation’s aging roads and bridges.

It’s worth being very clear upfront that the I-5 bridge in question wasn’t considered “structurally deficient” in any way — the bridge collapse is being blamed on a truck bumping an overhead girder. All we do know is that the bridge was sort of old. (Fortunately, no one died or was seriously injured.)

Here’s the AP: “The bridge was built in 1955 and has a sufficiency rating of 57.4 out of 100. That is well below the statewide average rating of 80 … but 759 bridges in the state have a lower sufficiency score.” The bridge was also classified as “functionally obsolete,” but that doesn’t mean it was unsafe, just that it was built according to earlier standards. ....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/24/u-s-infrastructure-spending-has-plummeted-since-2008/