[neverdem]

Video Fatigue Cracking Suspected on Bridge

AllenBrisson-Smith for The New York Times
The entire span of the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed in Minneapolis.

[Brilliant]

The NYT has keen insight into the obvious.

[Mariner]

We can't afford these investments.

Entitlements take all of our money, and we're unwilling to provide the government with more.

This reminds me of the cloassic Emergency Services/Paramedics scam run by every county in the country. "Without this tax increase, we'll have to drop the paramedic program and cut the Fire Dept in half...and police services too".

All the while, there's never any mention of the possibility of cutting the needle exchange program...or the free medical care for illegals program.

[LibLieSlayer]

It is NOW all about a ONE TRILLION DOLLAR PORK BARREL HOG TROUGH!

LLS

[Publius6961]

“Governments do not want to pay for maintenance because it is not sexy does not buy votes and keep themselves in office,” said John Ochsendorf, a structural engineer and an associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

There, I fixed it.

[vpintheak]

Well too damn bad. As long as there are welfare momma’s, corporate lobbyists, and illegal aliens, there won’t be money for anything like upkeep on our roads and bridges.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Where’s Captain Obvious tonight! A 25 Megaton detonation could barely penetrate the skull of your typical fatally affected liberal (which is 90% of them). God help us!

[haroldeveryman]

“Finding money to maintain infrastructure has become increasingly difficult as public officials keep pledges not to raise taxes., said Robert Dunphy, a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute. “We have an impending crisis with infrastructure, but it is easy to ignore until you have a catastrophe.”

So the “sophisticated” New York Times thinks that if more money is raised by increasing taxes, that money would be spent on infrastructure maintenance items such as bridges! How would that benefit politicians? Who ever heard of the ‘Harry Reid Memorial Paint Job?’ Politicians want monuments to themselves and the next billion dollars collected are going to be spent on crap intended only to impress voters. The best thing about the Times article is the quote from the MIT engineering professor that that “Governments do not want to pay for maintenance because it is not sexy.”

[Lexinom]

He said the bulk of the nation’s highway system was built in the 1950s and 1960s and is ageing.

I'd be interested to know about that portion outside "the bulk" which ISN'T aging... Ripley's Believe It or Not material.

[meyer]

This country is way too interested in feel-good welfare programs to be bothered with actually building something. Unfortunately, 6 years of Republican control didn’t change any of this.

[Fresh Wind]

Of course, in the coming days, we will see the emergency funding requests from the Minnesota Department of Transportation prior to the bridge collapse detailing the dire condition of the bridge, and the need for immediate corrective action.

[dfwgator]

Seeing how the government manages the roads, it should give pause to anyone who thinks the government should take over health care.