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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWashington Bridge Creaks as U.S. Repair Costs Increase
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-28/washington-bridge-creaks-as-u-s-repair-costs-increase.htmlThe vintage-1925 Meridian Street bridge in Puyallup, Washington, creaks and shakes as 15,000 vehicles a day rumble over it, striking fear into the hearts of commuters like Robert Elkins.
Elkins, 45, said the May 23 collapse of a portion of the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River, 95 miles (155 kilometers) north of Puyallup (53WAPUYA), brought home the degraded condition of his own communitys span. Its one of 134 owned by Washington classified as structurally deficient, though transportation officials say theres no imminent risk.
It just seems like at any moment, it could give way, said Elkins, who drives and walks over the steel-truss structure several times a week. Its scary. Its like, please dont come down on me while Im walking under it.
The passage over the Puyallup River is among 11 percent of U.S. bridges categorized as structurally deficient, according to the 2013 infrastructure report card by the American Society of Civil Engineers, based in Reston, Virginia. The trade group estimated that the federal, state and local governments need to spend $8 billion a year more to catch up with $76 billion in unmet needs for deficient bridges.
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We need the jobs and the cost of money is now cheap but the republicans have been blocking
any sort of infrastructure $ in order to hurt the President and the economy. Dwight Eisenhower,
a famous republican, started the Interstate Highway system and the idea that we would have
outdated and failing bridges on it would be more then he could stand.
global1
(25,168 posts)This seems to be the way we have to do things these days. Repugs won't fund infrastructure projects - because that would inject money into the economy and create jobs. That would make Obama look good.
So there will be no pro-active rebuilding - only reactive - after a hurricane, a tornado, a bridge collapse, etc.
Sad - isn't it?
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)Out where I live, they're going to replace the Tappan Zee bridge, a span of similar age to the one that got decked by a goofball who didn't know the size of his load. Only the TZ gets WAAAY more traffic every day, because of commuting to NYC. You should have heard the howling from the riverfront homeowners who might have to see construction for a few years. The state spent megamillions dealing with them.
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)the money on infrastructure would have a fit if their next door neighbor let his house go to seed.
The whole country falling apart is OK, though.
FWIW, Europe has gotten the austerity disease, too, and it's killing them slowly.