U.S. Bridges? F#cked. ....... The Money to Fix Them? In Iraq

[marmar]

via AlterNet's PEEK:



U.S. Bridges? F#cked. The Money to Fix Them? In Iraq

Posted by Jill Hussein C. at 4:18 PM on July 29, 2008.

"I often wonder why so much lip service is given to 'national defense' and almost none given to having something to defend."




We all know about the billions of dollars being shoveled into Iraq, much of it into the hands of unaccountable private contractors.

Here at home, our basic infrastructure is falling apart:

It would cost at least $140 billion to repair all the nation's bridges if work began immediately, a nationwide safety organization said in a comprehensive report Monday.

"States simply cannot keep up with bridge maintenance," the report warns, adding that 73 percent of U.S. road traffic -- and 90 percent of truck traffic -- travels over state-owned bridges.

Nearly one in four bridges needs repairs, and the average age of America's bridges is 43 years -- seven years shy of the maximum age for which most are designed, according to the report, titled "Bridging the Gap."

One in five U.S. bridges is more than 50 years old, the report says.

And yet there is little sense of urgency on Capitol Hill to do anything about it. Last Thursday the House passed legislation that would provide $1 billion for bridge repair -- barely a fraction of the amount needed. And yet this same Congress has given blank checks for Iraq for five years. I often wonder why so much lip service is given to "national defense" and almost none given to having something to defend.


http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/93193/u.s._bridges_f%23cked._the_money_to_fix_them_in_iraq/

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. You know...

A trailer full of goosedown, a tanker full of hot tar and a flatbed loaded with fence rails, parked in front of the Capitol building, might just be the sort of statement needed.

[emmadoggy]

2. Not only are the bridges falling apart,

but it seems that everywhere I go these days, the ROADS are utter crap too!! Frankly, the town I live in has some of the worst streets of any place I've ever lived or been. But it's not just here - all the area highways, and many streets in towns I travel through are just awful. Or at the very least, at a point where they need some repairs or resurfacing. Yet it doesn't seem to be happening anywhere. (In fact, in my town, they DID do some street repairs and ended up making the streets WORSE!! :mad: )

The bridge situation is downright scary though. I'm much more "aware", shall we say, when driving over them. And after all the horrible flooding here in our area this summer, the state of the bridges is even more disconcerting. (One bridge near here just re-opened a few days ago after being closed for a few weeks after the flooding. The story was that the flooding had caused a huge washout right next to one of the bridge supports. When officials put a long stick or rod down the hole, they couldn't reach bottom. :wow: )

The Mississippi River bridge in Winona, MN was closed for a few weeks earlier this summer due to cracks or something. This caused many, many people who lived on the Wisconsin side, but work in Winona, to have to take a 70 mile detour to the next river bridge!! They ended up setting up a ferry service to get people back and forth for work. The bridge is open again now, but I believe traffic is still limited on it - ie. any vehicle over a certain weight has to have an escort across the bridge or something like that.

The place is falling apart around us.

[Golden Raisin]

3. The entire infrastructure of this

country is in bad shape. Our tax money is siphoned to Iraq, the Pentagon, Big Oil's obscene profits and plutocrats. Bridges, levees and roads are falling apart. Kids graduate from our neglected schools and can't read well or do simple arithmetic without a calculator.