Posted on 08/05/2007 3:16:09 AM PDT by nancyvideo
As of 2005, 155,144 of the nations 592,473 bridges (26.2%) were rated structurally deficient or functionally obsolete - see how bridges in your state are ranked.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
I have ActiveX disabled. Must be some other plugin.
Yes, civil engineers will be in huge demand.
It’ll be like global warming. Doom and gloomers will get the money and the press. Engineers that say otherwise will be banished.
Agreed. I checked out the list for my FL county. There is an entire section listed for I-4 that has to be several years out of date because ALL of those bridges have been replaced or rebuilt in the past 5 years.
I bet not many know that some on the list are only small bridges. Or Interstate overpasses and ramps. One bridge on their list is over the Neversink and was just repaired after the last flood. The list says it’s from 2005 and you have to look REALLY close to find that.
“””state-by-state listing of PERCENTAGES of bridges that are “structurally deficient”-—not an actual list of bridges (which would actually be useful).””
Try this link - you click on the state and then it gives a list of all bridges by county, road, status and ranking.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20093413/?GT1=10252
Since just about every bridge in my area is on it, the list is useless. I need a list of bridges that will collapse before they actually do!
There's some bridges and Interstate overpasses near my house that are basically brand new and tagged 'O' for obsolete.
More eamples of how our politicians continue to fail us.
They continue to offer more and more social programs and funding for everything.
Yet they fail to do what Government should do, provide basic services such as infrastructure and military.
We all are at fault for allowing these parasitic politicians to feed off of us.
Demand more form your elected officials.
Exactly. America reached the glory of the Roman Empire between the timeframe of Jan 1993 and Jan 2001. Everything before and after was disastrous.
The US employment rate is now around 95%. We are “importing” workers to rebuild Katrina’s devastations, highway projects in Houston, as well as US and Canada oil and gas projects (refineries and pipelines). These are are skilled construction workers: welders, iron workers, electricians, etc.
For existing construction projects (international and domestic),Labor, Steel, and other commodities are in short supply with very long delivery times.
For liberals, it is always: “Throw more taxpayer money at the problem.” However, this highway issue is bigger and longer term, and IT IS NOT GW BUSH’s fault.
Just a silly question.....
Is it the responsibility of the Federal government to maintain these bridges or the local county/city where the bridges are located?
“””Is it the responsibility of the Federal government to maintain these bridges or the local county/city where the bridges are located?”””
IIRC Interstate highways are Federal entities. State & local jurisdictions get Federal funds to take care of maintenance & repair from gas tax/trust fund. However, the Congress allocates some of this money to bike trails and museums - which may come under the Parks Dept. Very complex - but taxpayers pay for everything.
Gotta wonder just how many bridges the $2.2 billion a year we waste on foreign aid to Egypt would build. Or the 150 million a year we send to the terrorists in Gaza. Or the 700 million to Pakistan. Or the 94 million a year we send to India, of all places, land of the growing middle class and outsourcer of jobs.
Not a silly question. Roads and bridges are a state and local responsibility. Yes, the Interstate Highway system was 95% front-funded by federal dollars, but the management and maintenance of highways, roads and bridges, is a state job.
It is nothing short of deceptive that they lump together “Deficient” and “Obsolete”.
Obsolete merely means that the bridge has been outgrown by the road network that it services, or traffic needs have changed such that a new bridge would better serve. But it has no safety connotation. It does not mean the bridge is unsound.
“Deficient” too, I’m sure considers a whole spectrum of engineering concerns. Some are surely more worrisome than others, and there are probably some relatively minor deficiencies that might get a bridge listed as such. The important thing to find out, of course, is how many bridges are actually is such condition that they are unsafe?
Part of what’s happening is a result of the sudden surge in building projects that started in the fifties, probably related to the massive expansion of the interstate highway network. Instead of some more or less constant annual level of building, rebuilding and replacement, suddenly the number of new bridges and road projects raced ahead and mushroomed. So many projects built almost at once, it stands to reason that many of them will then all reach the end of their useful life together as well.
How did “Nowhere” not make Alaska’s list?
Thanks for the ping. Looks like murtha hasn’t been bringing home the proper pork, now he’ll want more.
It is very simple. Those who are elected to administer public affairs are incompetent.The public that elects them has a few remaining vestiges of ability but this will soon be swamped by the “diverse” ones flooding here for a handout. The spreading of celebrity morality among the general populace is taking care of any remaining decency. AMERICA HAS RUN OUT OF LUCK!
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.