Administration, Democrats Clash On Bridge Repairs

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

The Bush administration and Senate Democrats clashed Wednesday over whether the nation's bridges are in a state of disrepair severe enough to be called a safety crisis.

"We don't believe there is a crisis with regard to bridge safety in America," Federal Highway Administrator Thomas Madison Jr. told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing.

More than one in four of the nation's 600,000 bridges are rated structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, but states have been putting more money into bridge repairs and the share of troubled bridges is shrinking.

"The condition of bridges is improving," Madison said, adding that even though a bridge is determined to be "structurally deficient" that doesn't mean it's unsafe or in imminent danger of collapse.

But Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said, "We have a crisis to deal with today — and that is the safety and security of all these bridges." Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent, said "bridges across rural America" are in danger of collapse.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chair of the committee, said it "defies commonsense" to believe that bridges judged structurally deficient are safe. She noted that the government's definition of a structurally deficient bridge is one that either has a weight limitation on vehicles that can cross it, needs immediate rehabilitation or is closed.

"We're at a point where we're short of funds so we try to wish away what's staring us in the face," Boxer said. "Let's at least admit the truth."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/09/national/w162714D21.DTL

[Muttocracy]

1. condition of bridges is improving? these people flunked science didn't they...

are they faith healing rusty metal now?

[ladywnch]

5. science is the devil's work, remember. science = evil n/t

[GoddessOfGuinness]

2. Gotta have 5 bridges collapse before you can call it a crisis.

[hyphenate]

3. Gee, if they hadn't been spending so much money

building bridges to nowhere, they might have had more money to repair the ones that DO go somewhere.

[DCKit]

11. They spent it all right, but not on transportation infrastructure.

The maladministration is doing everything they can do distract from the fact that all that money is gone - the same shit they'd have pulled on Social Security if given the chance.

[glinda]

4. Bridge Repairs....nahhhhhhhhh!

That is why Pawlenty wasn't picked. He was remiss on money for pursuing Bridge repairs.In fact, pretty much appointed incompetent people to oversee and carry that out. McCain doesn't support them either. Guess that duo would have been called "Bridge to Nowhere Part 1".

[happygoluckytoyou]

6. notice they fixed the one in MN before the GOP CONVENTION

YOU CAP PUT LIPSTICK ON A BRIDGE...but sarah palin is still a pig

[Stellabella]

10. No, it's not done yet.

Next week, probably. But you can bet Timmy the Tool and all his evil repuke buddies will be on hand waving and smiling.

[bulloney]

7. But we have a billion dollars for Georgia. We have $10 bil/month for the Iraq war.

Where are this nation's priorities?

Why the Crash/Caribou Barbie ticket has even 10% approval from voters speaks volumes of how stupid this country has become!

[unkachuck]

8. see America....

"We don't believe there is a crisis with regard to bridge safety in America."

....bushco/mcsame are trying to kill you!!

[Zambero]

9. GOP prefers building Bridges to Nowhere...

instead of maintaining existing ones.