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pscot

(21,023 posts)
Thu May 23, 2013, 11:33 PM May 2013

I-5 bridge collapse at Mt.Vernon



A portion of an interstate highway bridge in Washington state collapsed Thursday night, sending cars and people into the (Skagit River), authorities said.

The collapse occurred on the Interstate 5 freeway over the Skagit River in Mount Vernon, Wash., about two hours north of Seattle
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I-5 bridge collapse at Mt.Vernon (Original Post) pscot May 2013 OP
three rescued KT2000 May 2013 #1
Your tax cuts at work eridani May 2013 #2
The car culture is a zombie horse; pscot May 2013 #3
The Cost of Diversion... countryjake May 2013 #4
The truck was hauling tar sands equipment eridani May 2013 #5
Republicans don't think we need taxes for infrastructure repair eridani May 2013 #6
Condotta has no such problem with bridge improvements in his own backyard pscot May 2013 #7
Comment from WA Liberals eridani May 2013 #8
The “Tim Eyman Memorial Bridge” meme: Why it got started, why it’s taken off eridani May 2013 #9
Driver says he was crowded pscot Jun 2013 #10

eridani

(51,907 posts)
2. Your tax cuts at work
Sun May 26, 2013, 05:22 AM
May 2013
Washington’s roads, transit rate a D+, engineers say

http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2013/05/washingtons-roads-transit-rate-a-d-engineers-say/

Meanwhile, the Legislature is considering a gas-tax hike of up to 10 cents a gallon along with other fees to fuel an $8.4 billion program — mostly highway expansions. Only $900 million is earmarked for maintenance and preservation. The plan has been blasted by retired WashDOT Secretary Doug MacDonald. Among other problems, it puts off a full redecking of Interstate 5 to some future round of tolls or taxes.

The Seattle ASCE’s report suggests gas taxes that keep pace with inflation, along with public-private partnerships that might save money. But the group wouldn’t judge OIympia’s 2013 package, when asked Tuesday. “We’d like to see a good balance between maintenance of projects, and new projects,” said Larry Costich, legislative correspondent for Seattle ASCE.

Washington’s scores by category were: aviation C, bridges C-, dams B, drinking water C-, rail C-, roads D+, schools C, hazardous waste C, and transit D+.

pscot

(21,023 posts)
3. The car culture is a zombie horse;
Sun May 26, 2013, 10:34 AM
May 2013

it's dead and doesn't know it. We need rail and transit. We don't maintain the roads we have. Building new highways is folly driven by special interests, so it's probably unstoppable.

countryjake

(8,554 posts)
4. The Cost of Diversion...
Sun May 26, 2013, 03:15 PM
May 2013
http://www.goskagit.com/all_access/the-cost-of-diversion/article_c827b1a7-e30f-52ae-ae95-4da94e7ce092.html

By Mark Stayton ~ Skagit Valley Herald ~ Sunday, May 26, 2013

The closure of Interstate 5 just north of Mount Vernon due to a collapse of the Skagit River Bridge into the Skagit River has already started to weigh on local businesses, and will have a sizable, if not yet fully understood, impact on the regional economy.

In a best-case scenario, the investigation and repair of the bridge would take four to seven weeks, Todd Harrison, bridge and structures engineer for the state Department of Transportation said Friday at a meeting of local businesses, police and state, local and national representatives. If it can’t be repaired, that time span grows.

Until then, the main arterial connecting Alaska and Canada to the west coast of the United States and Mexico will be interrupted, pushing an estimated 71,000 vehicles per day (Federal Highway Administration, 2010) across local roads and byways.

The impact on cross-border commerce could be sizable, said Don Alper, director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University
.



and from Friday's Skagit Valley Herald...

Brand-new bridge unlikely, officials say
http://www.goskagit.com/all_access/brand-new-bridge-unlikely-officials-say/article_42a9ea78-c4f3-11e2-8641-0019bb2963f4.html


MOUNT VERNON — It’s unlikely that Skagit County will get a brand-new, modern bridge following Thursday’s collapse of a span over the Skagit River on Interstate 5.

Replacing the entire Interstate 5 bridge between Burlington and Mount Vernon may not be an option due to financial constraints, Lynn Peterson, secretary of the state Department of Transportation, said Friday.

“Under current fiscal constraints, there is no intent to rebuild this (entire) bridge,” Peterson said.

Instead, it’s likely the span will be replaced based on the state it was in when it collapsed.

Other bridges score lower on a safety scale than the Skagit River Bridge before its collapse, she said.

eridani

(51,907 posts)
5. The truck was hauling tar sands equipment
Wed May 29, 2013, 07:40 AM
May 2013

The Alberta Tar Sands are directly connected to the I-5 Skagit River bridge disaster. Calgary-based Mullen Trucking was hauling housing (a huge box) for oil drilling equipment to Vancouver, Washington. That's one of the ports where drilling rigs are offloaded for a "Heavy Haul" on enormous trucks up to Alberta. Then the empty housing units are trucked down south for another run--that's when the oversize load hit the bridge!

This is what opponents of the Heavy Haul have been warning about--this equipment is too gargantuan for our aging transportation infrastructure. We need to keep the Heavy Haul off our roads!

--Zoltan Grossman

Here are background links:

"The tractor-trailer was hauling drilling equipment housing to Vancouver, Wash."
http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/headlines/truck-in-bridge-collapse-hauled-drilling-equipment/article_c6b8e03e-c41d-11e2-afe2-001a4bcf887a.html

Mullen Trucking has "escorted numerous loads destined for the tar sands":
http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/missoula/megaloads/Content?oid=1702518

Mullen Trucking at Oil Sands Trade Show
http://oilsandstradeshow.com/2013/exhibitors/mullen-trucking-lp/

"There are some big players in the logistics industry in Alberta's oil sands. For example, Mullen Trucking L.P. has a $2.5 billion market cap. Terrible road conditions mean trucking equipment around is hugely important...rig-moving equipment is 'the latest thing.'"
http://www.oregonlive.com/hillsboro/index.ssf/2012/07/hillsboros_columbia_industries_1.html

"Opponents force Imperial Oil to send megaloads to Canada's oil sands on interstates, avoiding scenic highways" (with map)
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/11/opponents_force_imperial_oil_t.html

All Against the Haul
http://allagainstthehaul.org

eridani

(51,907 posts)
6. Republicans don't think we need taxes for infrastructure repair
Wed May 29, 2013, 06:34 PM
May 2013
So much for that bridge wake-up call

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021075580_westneat29xml.html

A Republican in the state House, Cary Condotta, R-East Wenatchee, went further, telling the Washington State Wire political site that a push for raising the gas tax to boost infrastructure due to this calamity is “a joke.”

“You could strike a brand-new bridge with a semi truck and it will come down,” Condotta said. “I am just beside myself about how idiotic we have become.”

Yep, you read that right. In Republicanville, circa 2013, you’re an idiot if a pancaked bridge leads you to suspect some of our bridges might be a little shaky and in need of work.

Which makes the Seattle Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers a pack of gibbering dolts, I guess.

“This bridge was classified as functionally obsolete, which means that the bridge no longer meets the current standards that are used today,” the group said. “Our state has aging bridges that need to be maintained and modernized, and dwindling transportation funds to address these pressing needs.”

Look, the Skagit River bridge wasn’t taken out by a ship or a bomb. That would be a “freak occurrence.” It was hit by an oversized truck load, which is not all that rare — it happens about 20 times per year in this state, according to the state Department of Transportation.

“Bridges get hit all the time,” says Jeff Murphy, 68, a retired trucker from Sedro-Woolley who drove 3 million miles in his more-than-30-year career. “I saw this same bridge hit before, because it’s a low bridge. Ask any trucker — some of these bridges are hit constantly.

The Skagit River bridge shows our future collapsing, too

http://blogs.seattletimes.com/jontalton/2013/05/28/the-skagit-river-bridge-shows-our-future-collapsing-too/

Yet I’m not optimistic that this most recent evidence of our failing infrastructure will be a wake-up call any more than the lethal Minneapolis bridge collapse of 2007. An $8.5 billion transportation bill is bottled up in Olympia. The critical Columbia River Crossing is stymied because some in Vancouver, Wash., are afraid of light rail. In the other Washington, the misbegotten culture of austerity and sequester is making it impossible to do much more than tread water, if that.

The best we may hope for is small steps, such as a gradual fix for the mudslides on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line between Seattle and Everett. The bridge over the Skagit will be replaced. And wait for the next structural failure. The biggest one is in our inability to rebuild America.

pscot

(21,023 posts)
7. Condotta has no such problem with bridge improvements in his own backyard
Wed May 29, 2013, 09:02 PM
May 2013

SR 285 (MP .3-1.1) West End - Senator George Sellar Bridge Intersection Improvements
Tuesday through Thursday-DAYS, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.: expect no traffic impacts. Crews continue to work on the bridges, driveways and sidewalks on Ferry St. from Wenatchee Ave. to Mission St. as well as on Ferry St., west of Mission. This week, new permanent stop and street signs are being installed.
Tuesday night until noon Wednesday, expect the loop ramp from Wenatchee Ave. up to SR 285 to be closed as Selland crews finish the widening of SR 285 and the new loop ramp connection to remove the weave. A detour will be available using Marr St.

In this $9.8 million project, Selland Construction crews are adding lanes, an off ramp, widening the bridge over Wenatchee Ave. and other improvements. Work began July 23 and should be complete this fall.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/regions/northcentral/construction

SR 28, Jct. US 2/97 to 9th St. - Eastmont Extension Stage 1
(This is the last phase - a 3.2 mile extension of Eastmont Ave.)
Expect No traffic impact -work continues on the new alignment which is not open to traffic.
This $7.2 million project is administered by Douglas County. Crews from William Charles West Construction of Pasco began work Sept. 10, 2012 and expect to complete it this fall.

SR 28 East End of the Senator George Sellar Bridge Improvements
Tuesday through Friday, expect no traffic restrictions as work is off road, including grading and surfacing of the pedestrian trails and work on sidewalks on Grant Rd., Valley Mall Pkwy. and Rock Island Rd.
In this $16.4 million project , KLB Construction Co. crews built a bypass for southbound SR 28 traffic to the west of the Grant Road intersection and widened eastbound Grant Road to allow a triple left turn from southbound SR 28. Work began Sept. 6, 2011 and should be complete early this summer

eridani

(51,907 posts)
8. Comment from WA Liberals
Thu May 30, 2013, 10:37 PM
May 2013

The collapse of the Skagit bridge over I-90 has generated lots of discussion about the need to maintain our infrastructure, and about the need to raise tax revenue to do so.

Someone suggested we should blame anti-tax terrorist Tim Eyman for the collapse, since lack of funds resulted in poor maintenance. Someone else said that the federal government is responsible for the interstates, so we can’t blame Eyman. Who’s correct?

I asked House Transportation Committee chair Judy Clibborn (D – 41st LD). She said the state is responsible for maintenance of the interstates. The US government used to give back 90% of its share of gas tax revenue in the form of transportation funding. Now it gives back much less, about 10%.

Clibborn told me that Eyman’s initiatives, in particular I-695 (which cut the yearly car tab fees), have made it much more difficult to fund road maintenance and other transportation projects.

But, said Clibborn, the Skagit bridge that collapsed was not in disrepair; it had passed an inspection in November of 2012. Its problem is that its construction was based on an obsolete truss design, from the 1950s, that made it susceptible to damage of the type that occurred when an oversize truck broke an overhead girder. There are hundreds of bridges of a similar design in the state.

Clibborn said that there are three hundred bridges more dangerous than the Skagit bridge, including the Columbia River Crossing bridge over I-5, between WA and OR; part of it was built in 1917 and is partly made of wood. Presumably, the I-520 bridge over Lake Washington counts among the dangerous bridges; it is said to be susceptible collapse during an earthquake.

Clibborn says that many Republican legislators in Washington State “get” the need for transportation funding. Legislators even in eastern Washington understand that farms and factories can’t function without an efficient transportation infrastructure. But in the recent election, one of those reasonable Republicans was replaced with a much more conservative Republican, and now it’s harder to pass transportation bills.

We do need to document the deaths and suffering that result from Republican opposition to government and taxes, especially the 40,000+ people who die yearly due to inadequate medical care in the U.S.

Eyman lucked out this time, but I still think it’s fair to dedicate the bridge to him. Let’s be on the lookout for chances to blame Eyman and other government haters for disasters: someone dies on a poorly maintained road, a kid drops out of school because he didn’t get the support he needs, an adult doesn’t get a job because he couldn’t afford college, a homeless person dies on the streets, a mentally ill person shoots someone, or someone gets lung disease from air pollution due to over-crowded roads and lack of public transportation. For more on countering anti-government propaganda see, Countering anti-government propaganda: the case of the Freedom Foundation.

eridani

(51,907 posts)
9. The “Tim Eyman Memorial Bridge” meme: Why it got started, why it’s taken off
Fri May 31, 2013, 02:36 PM
May 2013
http://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2013/05/the-tim-eyman-memorial-bridge-meme-why-it-got-started-why-its-taken-off.html

Last week, in the aftermath of the collapse of a key span of the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River, a friend of NPI’s (Wu Ming) suggested in a diary on Daily Kos that we begin referring to the out-of-service crossing as the “Tim Eyman Memorial Bridge”. We ran with the meme, creating a now widely-reproduced image depicting the failed bridge with a mock roadsign over it, which you may have seen on Twitter or Facebook. Or maybe even in your inbox.

pscot

(21,023 posts)
10. Driver says he was crowded
Thu Jun 13, 2013, 08:11 PM
Jun 2013

Implying he was forced to move over. The comment thread at the link kicks it around. Interesting conversation. The oil drilling gear on the truck was bound for the Alberta tar sands. There are some deep pockets behind this. The state should go after damages; try the case in Bellingham

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/NTSB-Driver-felt-crowded-before-I-5-bridge-collapse-211056781.html

A brief assessment issued by the National Transportation Safety Board said the oversize load collided with the far right side of the truss structure on the evening of May 23, resulting in the collapse of the bridge into the Skagit River. The driver reported that his load was 15 feet, 9 inches tall while the lowest portion of the bridge braces was just 14 feet, 8 inches.

The NTSB has been looking to speak with the driver of the truck and trailer that passed the oversize load, but board spokesman Peter Knudson said officials still have not found the person or vehicle.

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