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-Short Attention Span Theater-
America's infrastructure is crumbling and these people are suffering because of it
2019-06-19
(CNN)The fabric of America is crumbling. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gives the nation's infrastructure a D+ grade -- that's the roads and bridges we drive on every day, the airports we use for business and vacation travel, and the schools where we send our children to learn. And newer networks critical to modern life, like broadband internet, haven't even reached many areas yet.

President Donald Trump declared at his inauguration, "We will build new roads, and highways, and bridges, and airports, and tunnels, and railways all across our wonderful nation." At least seven times, his White House has declared that the chosen theme of a week would be infrastructure, but each time the issue has become lost in other events, often generated by the President himself.

Money -- whether through taxes, tolls or private investment -- is the only way to fix the problem. The ASCE says $4.6 trillion is needed for improvements in the next decade. The Democrats said they and Trump had agreed on a $2 trillion price tag for an infrastructure plan -- which would only be part of a national solution that could also include state, local and private action -- but precious little has been achieved.
Posted by:Skidmark

#11  The new ASSHTO rating criteria has eliminated the Functionally Obsolete criteria in the Sufficiency Rating as that skewed the results against older bridges that didn't have current standard widths, sidewalks, bike lanes, etc., that have been added on for vociferous constituencies. Currently they are all being rated under the LRFD criteria, which is a big chore. Structurally Deficient is the big driver now for priority work/$. Our bridges are inspected bi-annually by the State DOT SM&I crews with "snooper" trucks that articulate underside and around members
Posted by: Frank G   2019-06-19 19:01  

#10  frank g

as I recall the long term trend in highway bridges is a decrease in the number that are structurally deficient and an increase in the number that are functionally obsolescent (typically because they aren't wide enough or don't have enough lanes)

Posted by: lord garth   2019-06-19 15:49  

#9  Frank! That's even more cynical than me! Keepitup!
Posted by: Bobby   2019-06-19 09:53  

#8  I'm an ASCE member, and the guy in charge of our local bridge building/integrity/maintenance. I got called to the Grand Jury after the report card came out a couple years ago and they were worried about the grade our State's bridges got. I assured them that none were in immediate danger of collapse, or anywhere near. They asked why the grade was so low and ASCE demanding more funding. I let them know that that was one of the reasons why I was a dues-paying member, and if they didn't ask for more funding I wouldn't be a member much longer. Meeting over.
Posted by: Frank G   2019-06-19 09:33  

#7  Solar flare, aging infrastructure or Russia: Who gets blamed when the US has a massive power outage?

If the fascists commies progressives keep the pressure up, it will be visited upon them by their own acts. Not counting the self inflicted type like brown outs in Northern California.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2019-06-19 09:04  

#6  Solar flare, aging infrastructure or Russia: Who gets blamed when the US has a massive power outage?
Posted by: Skidmark   2019-06-19 08:58  

#5  As a retired ASCE member, allow me to point out that a lot of infrastructure spending passes through Civil Engineers.

If we somehow found enough cash to get the grades up to "A", there wouldn't be enough civil engineers to design and build the projects. Plus I am pretty sure the 'goalposts' would've moved by then. I suppose I am cynical.
Posted by: Bobby   2019-06-19 08:04  

#4  the ASCE report is one they do every year

I was going to make a similar observation that, like various media attacks against Trump, this theme's in the rotation / playbook every year, like the flea-flicker and the naked bootleg. Sometimes it works, more often it doesn't.
Posted by: Raj   2019-06-19 07:35  

#3  Giving illegals driver's licenses isn't going to help that then!
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2019-06-19 04:13  

#2  the ASCE report is one they do every year

in the guts of the report the details come out and the problem with American infrastructure is not the physical structures but the capacity

that is, roads are not crumbling but they are very crowded

airports are not crumbling but there is a shortage of space frequently

etc.
Posted by: lord garth   2019-06-19 03:20  

#1  Obama's shovel ready 'American Recovery and Reinvestment Act' of 2009.
Posted by: Besoeker   2019-06-19 01:52  

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