America’s Crumbling Infrastructure?

Mercatus Center, George Washington University ^ | June 26, 2015 | Robert Krol

[VTenigma]

Kudos to you. You are the only other poster I’ve seen articulate the truth about Obama’s slush fund. The 38% increase in the baseline budget baked in the first few months of his administration and enabled by continuing resolutions.

When other members suggest we cut off funds for this or that I groan to myself. Unallocated funds can’t be cut off after budgets are reconciled because bills to do so will be vetoed. The only time to change the profligate spending is during the budget reconciliation process and that leads to a possible shutdown that leadership will not consider.

Clawing back this slush fund is about as likely to happen as me bedding Catherine Zeta-jones. They all know and they’re all complicit and worst of all there is no outrage, even here.

[Ghost of SVR4]

There has been a fair amount of bridge work (from full on replacement to re-fitting) in my area. Some of the more rural areas (I am talking one lane back roads) have had bridges replaced that could accommodate an Abrams tank.

[BobL]

“...market-oriented ideas”

Translated: TOLL ROADS

[Vigilanteman]

All I know is that they constantly seem to be closing some lane of some section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike to "resurface" the road. Most of the time, you can't tell why it needed resurfacing and, other than the more even color of the pavement, you can't tell that they've done anything when finished.

I think it is just a "window dressing" program to convince the public that they are actually doing something with their rising turnpike toll collections other than paying padded salaries and benefits to the toll collectors.

[Vigilanteman]

They have been working on 1-81 forever. Yet, it never gets fixed?

What? And force them to work on the less visible roads which are even in worse shape? How is that going to educate the public to the plight of those poor, underpaid unionized PennDOT workers and their subcontractors? You need to get with the program!

[Arm_Bears]

Shovel-ready jobs.

Remember those?

[hinckley buzzard]

This has been a pet peeve of mine. The "crumbling infrastructure" meme was invented as a political soundbite, (and marketing for the civil engineering business), not a description of facts on the ground. In normal thinking, at most it simply refers to the natural need for routine maintenance. And aside from the badly designed bridge in Minnesota years ago, when was the last time anyone heard of a "crumbling bridge" collapsing into the water below.