Free Republic

No New York pedestrian would disagree with Eric Adam’s characterization of the city’s ubiquitous sidewalk sheds at stalled construction sites as “ugly little green boxes.” But his targeting of private buildings owners with $10,000 a month fines for scaffolding that stays up for more than 90 days without building repairs proceeding also suggests selective prosecution.

More than a third of U.S. submarines are out of commission due to ship-building delays, according to data released by the Congressional Research Service.. Thirty-seven percent of the U.S. Navy’s attack submarines—18 out of 49—are out of commission for repairs, up from 12 boats a decade ago. The Congressional Research Service said the backlog was due to "insufficient numbers of workers and facility constraints" at naval shipyards as well as "supply chain issues," saying that the delays have cut the "force’s capacity for meeting day-to-day mission demands and potentially putting increased operational pressure" on active boats. The statistic demonstrates the...

A new report shows that more than a third of America’s nuclear-powered attack submarines are idle. According to a Congressional Research Service report released July 6, 18 of the 49 submarines — or 37 percent — are being repaired or waiting for repairs. The report said that is far above the Navy’s goal of 20 percent. During the first year of the Biden administration, the figure was also at 37 percent before dipping to 33 percent in fiscal year 2022 and then rising again this year.

Emails from the “Laptop from Hell” in 2010 show Hunter Biden paid for home repairs on President Joe Biden’s Delaware residence, where stashed classified documents were unearthed by the president’s attorneys on Wednesday. Hunter paid thousands of dollars for Joe Biden’s home maintenance, including a $190 per month AT&T phone bill, according to emails between Hunter and Eric Schwerin, his business partner at Rosemont Seneca.

A third of the German Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers used by the Ukrainian army are already in need of maintenance and are to be sent for repair in Slovakia, German newspaper Spiegel reports, citing its own sources. According to the publication, from the very beginning, the Ukrainian military tried to fire special ammunition at too great a distance.

For months, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has been saying that $5.6 billion in additional federal funds through the Biden administration’s stimulus program won’t come close to addressing all of the state’s road and bridge needs. Now, a national online research organization agrees, at least on money for needed bridge work. InMyArea Research released a report last week that claims the $26.2 billion in stimulus funds for bridges nationwide over the next five years falls an estimated $7.3 billion short of the amount needed just to upgrade bridges rated in poor condition. Pennsylvania’s allocation of $1.63 billion for bridges is...

The city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) said today it will begin work this weekend along the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE), in an effort to extend the life of the triple-cantilever roadway that runs underneath the Brooklyn Promenade. Crews will begin work Friday evening, but the real impact on traffic will be felt Monday, when DOT plans to reduce the number of lanes on the portion of the expressway from Atlantic Avenue to the Brooklyn Bridge from three to two in both directions. The agency warned drivers to expect construction-induced traffic jams, and suggested they take public transit instead. Trucks and...

The 48-year-old Interstate 40 bridge between Arkansas and Tennessee was rated as being in “fair” condition with a sufficiency factor of 58% before a “significant” fracture was discovered on May 11. The structure has remained closed to traffic since that time as crews work to repair the damage, first stabilizing the bridge to accommodate the equipment needed and then removing and replacing the damaged portion of a 900-foot structural beam. The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) said a fracture may be caused by overload, shock, fatigue or stress. A critical fracture could lead to collapse, if not properly repaired and...

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. (NEWS10) – The Sitterly Road Bridge has reopened after the Department of Transportation finished installing a temporary bridge. The bridge, which crosses the Adirondack Northway between Exit 9 and Exit 8A, was closed on April 14 after it was struck and damaged by a truck traveling southbound on Interstate 87. Department of Transportation officials say the temporary bridge is restricted for overweight/oversized loads and has a temporary speed limit of 30 mph.

Across Missouri, about 900 state road and highway bridges are rated in “poor” condition by Missouri Department of Transportation inspectors. In Southwest Missouri alone, that number is a little more than 200. MoDOT officials say the problem — money, or the lack there of — is not anything new. Without a big infusion of new money coming into the state’s road budget, the number of bridges with a “poor” designation likely won’t improve much. and while sources for new revenue are on state and federal tables, they still have obstacles that would have to be overcome. MoDOT officials say being...

$3.4 billion. That’s how much bad roads and congestion in North Carolina costs its drivers in higher vehicle ownership costs, according to a report commissioned by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Fixing those roads—as well as repairing and replacing bridges, building new highways and any other large projects the N.C. DOT has on its schedule—takes money, and lots of it. Steve Abbott, a spokesperson for the N.C. DOT, said that to bring every bridge in the state to “good” condition would cost $3.8 billion, roughly 71 percent of the department’s $5.3 billion budget for the year. “As of now,...

The Florida Department of Transportation said Thursday that repairs on the Pensacola Bay Bridge are still on track to be completed by the week of May 31. As FDOT contractors install and repair the final five trophy pieces on the Pensacola Bay Bridge, considerable efforts have shifted to the construction and completion of the remaining bridge decks on the structure. Deck constructions consists of several key phases including: Placement of concrete beams. During this process, precast beams are transported to the bridge site, and erected onto the abutments and piers. Installation of stay-in-place forms and rebar (reinforced steel). The stay-in-place...

The Great Bend-Hallstead exit (230) off Interstate 81 in Susquehanna County is due for repair in the next few years and PennDOT has proposed installing an electronic toll, that would use E-ZPass or pay-by-plate collection for drivers who pass through the area. The funds collected would be used to pay for the construction, maintenance, and operation of that bridge. We spoke with several people who use this section of highway about the proposed idea. "I guess to raise taxes to everybody is really hard, so I guess for the people using the road, then maybe that's a good idea," said...

The highway headache in west Tulsa has only just begun. As part of a project to widen Interstate 44 from west of the Arkansas River to Union Avenue, and to improve the I-44/U.S. 75 interchange, significant delays can be expected, especially during peak travel times. “It’s definitely the hard part of the project right now,” Oklahoma Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kenna Mitchell said Tuesday. “They’re going to be placing some additional signage further back in the corridor to alert drivers.” Northbound U.S. 75 is narrowed to one lane at the interchange, causing northbound traffic to back up at least two...

WILMINGTON, Delaware (WPVI) -- Commuters can expect to see delays on Interstate 95 through Wilmington beginning in February. It's time for some rehabilitation, according to the Delaware Department of Transportation, which will be restoring a nearly one-mile corridor through Wilmington. They will also be overhauling 19 bridges to make sure it's safe for the next 30 years. The project will take about two years, and some commuters are frustrated. "Very frustrating. It's already always congested with traffic. So, if it's down to one lane, it's going to be even worse," said Stephanie Gentile from Tinicum. Traffic will be reduced by...

Michigan drivers and taxpayers have been complaining about road and highway conditions for years. But the solutions policymakers have recently proposed ranged from the politically impossible, like raising the gas tax 45 cents per gallon, to financially-risky short-term fixes like borrowing billions in bonds to pay for teacher pension contributions so that money could be shifted to funding for roads. But it seems like Michigan lawmakers may be warming up to a long-term, sustainable, users-pay solution to achieving better roads: tolling. Lansing's interest in tolling has gone back decades but this year the state Legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration...

Dive Brief: Skanska USA Civil Southeast has turned to the federal courts in an attempt to eliminate or significantly reduce its liability for damages caused by barges that broke loose from the $430 million Pensacola Bay Bridge construction project during Hurricane Sally in August by having its barges recognized as vessels protected under maritime law. In five separate filings each covering a different barge, Skanska asked the U.S. District Court in Pensacola, Florida, to declare that it is not liable "for any loss, injuries or damages" related to barge damage, including economic losses suffered by businesses from the closure of...

What the L? Gov. Cuomo rocked the regional transportation world this week when he cheered a report suggesting that the existing cross-Hudson tunnels between New Jersey and New York don’t need a full shutdown to rebuild them, potentially throwing yet another wrench into the plan to build a new pair of tunnels to boost interstate rail capacity, a $13-billion piece of the Gateway Project. It’s the latest baffling twist in the decade-plus-long saga. On Sunday, the governor suggested that a report done for the Port Authority by consultants London Bridge Associates showed that the existing century-old tunnels could be fixed...

Not many people would complain about a 60-degree day in February. But this winter’s temperature spikes could mean even earlier exposure to one of spring’s downsides: potholes. Tech gurus can’t stop the weather conditions that cause asphalt to weaken and crack — eventually opening up gaping holes large enough to swallow a Goodyear tire or mess up a Jeep’s alignment. But armed with smartphones, algorithms and self-healing asphalt, they’re trying to make road maintenance a little more manageable. While some are experimenting with high-tech ways to fill the pothole once it pops up — like using a 3D printer and...

Will County billboards that warned motorists about bridges stoked public-safety fears and helped convince state lawmakers of the need to approve a $45 billion infrastructure plan. The billboards and their impact arguably deserve to rank among the top political stories of the year, if not the decade. Construction unions paid to display the messages “Cross bridge at your own risk” and “Bridge ahead in critical condition” on electronic billboards near Interstate 80 bridges over the Des Plaines River in Joliet. The billboards heightened motorists’ fears about crumbling infrastructure and generated bipartisan support for the $45 billion Rebuild Illinois program. Marc...