23% of South Carolina bridges substandard: $3-billion needed for fix.

[DemoTex]

Cross-posted from GD

South Carolina faces its own challenges concerning bridges as the nation mourns after a bridge collapse in Minneapolis.

One in five bridges in South Carolina are substandard, though the state has no bridges of the steel girder span that collapsed Wednesday.

State Department of Transportation Director Buck Limehouse said about 1,033 bridges in South Carolina are structurally deficient and 776 others are functionally obsolete, meaning they don't meet current federal standards, though they aren't considered to be unsafe.

Limehouse said it would take $2.9 billion to fix all of the state's bridges, money that he said the state doesn't have. (More ..)

http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/...

Maybe Lindsey Graham is spending too much time buying rugs in Baghdad (5 rugs/$5!) and Jim DeMint is spending too much time with his pal Vitter to take care of the needs of SC.

Perhaps Graham and DimWit's fundy friends in the upstate, especially the BoJos, can heal those bridges through prayer and the laying of hands. Lindsey could even supply a few prayer rugs. DimWit and Vitter could supply .. well, never mind.

Edit: Changed % to agree with ASME. Added report card below.

ASCE State-By-State Report Card (thanks to Bleedingheart!):
http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/states.cfm