Crumbling concrete of Ambassador Bridge worries pedestrians, motorists
Posted on 02/23/2013 12:09:44 PM PST by SeekAndFind
It worked once, why not again?
While I recognize that roads and bridges are important, it certainly seems that Obama does consider them to be a sort of magic wand that grows the economy. I might, rather, suggest the following:
Tax policies that affect businesses
Tariff policies that affect overseas competitors and domestic exporters.
Environmental policies.
Private capital that builds factories.
Private employers determining their own wage and benefit packages and hiring to suit those packages.
You can grow the economy. You can increase wealth. You can employ people.
Roads and Bridges do not do these things in any really meaningful way.
(And I think Barry the Destroyer knows that.)
RE: It worked once, why not again?
You know the old adage: “Fool Me Once, Shame on You, Full Me Twice...” (Fill in the words)
RE: It worked once, why not again?
You know the old adage: “Fool Me Once, Shame on You, Fool Me Twice...” (Fill in the words)
If you are living in a county that has a bridge on the borderline of failure...it’s your county council, and your state officials who are responsible. The minute you go beyond that line and start expecting federal help for every single bridge or highway in America....which invokes some guy in Washington to save you....you’ve screwed up and might as well forget about things being simple.
The same is true for your teachers and the condition of your local school. Either the county board and the state are doing their job, or they are failures. If they can’t do their job....then just step down and allow the system to work.
We’ve all allowed some Jesus-political figures to seem awful big and important at the federal level. It’s time to let the locally elected guys do their job.
Watch this and then guess what gaggle of asshats are America’s biggest enemies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Lvl5Gan69Wo
The Tappan Zee Bridge, is a cantilever bridge in the U.S. state of New York, crossing the Hudson River at one of its widest points. As an integral conduit within the New York Metropolitan Area, it connects South Nyack in Rockland County with Tarrytown in Westchester County in the Lower Hudson Valley.
The bridge is part of the New York State Thruway mainline and is also designated as Interstate 87 and Interstate 287. The span carries seven lanes of motor traffic.
About 140,000 vehicles cross the 3.1-mile Tappan Zee Bridge every day, with volumes as high as 170,000 during peak traffic.
If nothing is done to relieve congestion in the I-287 Corridor between Suffern and Port Chester, by 2030 traffic crossing the bridge will increase to about 200,000 cars per day.
The bridge does not meet current seismic criteria. It also does not have shoulders to accommodate emergency vehicles and breakdowns.
n 1955, the Tappan Zee Bridge was built during a period of material shortages with a 50-year life span. Although it was designed to handle a maximum capacity of 80,000 cars, the structure far exceeds the recommended limit with an average of 140,000 vehicles per day. Now seven years past its intended life cycle, the Tappan Zee Bridge is functionally obsolete and no longer able to safely meet traffic demands. Not only with the new design remedy the bridge’s lack of a shoulder and narrow lanes (widths failed to meet interstate standards), it will also include dedicated emergency lanes.
I believe there is a case for Federal support for strengthening this bridge since it is an important gateway to and from NJ, NY and CT.
There is an intersection in my neighborhood at two roads with no walkways — “country roads”. The obama stimlis money paid to have wheel chair accessible curbs put in at each corner. It is a beautifully classic waste. You can roll your chair around and around the intersection, but there is ultimately no where to go and no where to come from.
Take a drive across the Ambassador bridge and you’ll understand why a second span is being built. However the Ambassador bridge is privately owned by Detroit’s biggest democrat donor and slumlord so Obama won’t be claiming that one.
I am waiting for him to claim the new international crossing since Canada is paying for that.
At the end of the day, we have more than enough infrastructure money if infrastructure was what it was actually paying for. On the bright side” Ann Arbor Michigan was approved for an $800,000 transportation grant to pave a bike path. /s.
“...it’s your county council, and your state officials who are responsible.”
We already pay huge gasoline taxes for roads and bridges at both the state and federal level. The real problem is that politicians piss away that $$ for votes and then claim to be broke. It’s a criminal racket up and down the line.
You are correct about this being more a state and local function. Your comment that, “If they can’t do their job....then just step down and allow the system to work,” made me smile at your naivete. It is up to us to hold them accountable. “We” are the ones failing at our jobs.
Clinton said the same thing and “promised” to rebuild our infrastructure. Wasn’t the first trillion dollar stimulus supposed to put people to work on our infrastructure? How about the second stimulus? The fact is that hundreds of billions are allocated to infrastructure every year and have been for decades.
Wonder what they spend all the fuel tax revenue on?.
As much as I hated to admit it, Jenny Granholm was at least partially right about allowing some roads to return to dirt.
25 or 30 years ago all the dirt roads around my hometown were paved because the heavy trucks building oil and gas infrastructure were tearing up the roads. After about 5 years the trucks were gone and here we are 25 years later paying to maintain paved roads that see 10 or 15 cars per day.
Obviously you don’t want high traffic dirt highways but there needs to be better criteria for how we pay to maintain our roads. I live on a dirt street and its just fine because only 2 other houses have access to it.
“I believe there is a case for Federal support for strengthening this bridge”
It is all commuter/local traffic — New York’s responsibility. This is true for all of the bridges in the NYC area — only a tiny percentage of the traffic is interstate.
The Federal government should put in a highway that bypasses NYC’s local traffic, a “wormhole” that connects central NJ to central CT, and has no exits near NYC.
Here in Massachusetts, there are many concrete highway overpasses dating from the 1920s. For years, I was nervous about driving under them. People thought I was crazy. About five years ago the highway department began putting nets under them. Some chunks must have fallen out.
You don't want to hit any size of concrete chunk while driving at 55 mph.
I'm amazed that they are still building new overpasses with concrete, like the giant ones on Rte. 84 near Hartford, CT.
I think the pilings of the Tappan Zee are made out of wood. Seriously. Yes, it’s way past it’s expiration date.
“.....roads that see 10 or 15 cars per day.”
You have my envy. It was like that when we bought our property about 30 years ago. Enjoy it while it lasts.
It certainly isn’t an epidemic or chicken-little proportion Obama wants to make it out to be.
Some actually are though. The Hohn Bridge where I am actually is. Thanks to democrats largely, they were letting it go to hell in order that they could tear it down and have one less easy way in and out of Milwaukee for many south side residents.
Doyle and the State DOT let it rot and fall apart. Walker now has funds allocated to repair it and it’s a priority project.
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