Posted on 06/27/2007 8:01:19 AM PDT by AngelesCrestHighway
For roughly a century, the United States has had the world's biggest economy. One of its strengths has been its infrastructure, from the rails and telegraph lines laid in the 19th century to the airports and fiber-optic networks of today. But as the United States struggles to stay ahead of China, is its aging infrastructure slowing it down? In almost every area - from waterworks to bridges and dams, highways to mass transit - many experts have answered "yes." A report card by the American Society of Civil Engineers, issued in 2005, gave the nation C's and D's in 14 of 15 categories, with an "incomplete" added for security. Some of these deficiencies have very real costs to economic growth. The poor condition of roads, the engineers estimated, costs $120 billion a year in repairs, operating costs and time wasted in traffic - that's equivalent to a full percentage point of the economy. "There's a tremendous need," said Larry Roth, a professional engineer who is deputy executive director of the engineers' group. "Not only are we not keeping pace with growth, but we're not keeping pace with the maintenance that's required. As a result, our infrastructure is simply crumbling." To eliminate its weaknesses, the United States would have to spend about $160 billion a year over five years, Roth added. That total of $800 billion is not so different from the $700 billion in estimated direct spending on the war in Iraq. Yet like investments in basic research and higher education, which may not pay off for decades, spending on infrastructure can be a tough sell for politicians. Their time horizon is usually the next election, not the next generation. And at the national level, infrastructure has hardly been an issue. "The American public is really aware of infrastructure," ...
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
As with many mechanical / engineered artifacts, they function fairly well when they are at their tolerance point. However, once a tolerance boundary is traversed, then collapse is around the corner. We have had the fortune to have a country that in the last century built solid infrastructure that has lasted and served us well. That period is coming to an end. To site one example that has been mentioned before, the electrical grid often operates very close to its failure point. Only due to the extraordinary efforts of the operations staff of the major utilities do things keep running smoothly. However, a few significant failures of key components could easily push the grid over the edge. Many dams and bridges are in the same parlous state, kept safe only by dedicated operators. You may not 'see' the problems, but I can guarantee you, they are out there.
The expense is going to be mind-boggling. A six-mile stretch of I-10 is being widened from four to eight lanes at Tucson. Three years, $220 Million. And that’s before delays and cost overruns.
Of course, and bridges and roads are rebuilt all the time. Does anyone seriously drive down the highway and wonder, “Gee, I wonder if the next bridge is going to collapse?”
“Gee, I wonder if the next bridge is going to collapse?”
....
Yes, this is our infrastructure that worries me the most.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.