Most states are diverting funds from fuel taxes into social spending to buy votes. The result is pot holes, rusty bridges, clogged streets and a whole class of people who sit on their asses.
If they put a sign up on every bridge telling it’s rating..there would be a lot of voters demanding action.
Canada has had the same problem..Quebec bridge collaps, but nothing has changed.
Context, people, context. Get your comparative risk statistics on straight.
Congressman Billybob
This situation screams for engineering innovation. We need a way to repair/replace bridges with less disruption. How about a civilian version of the portable Army bridge (Wolverine?). Something that could temporarily carry the load while the permanent span is repaired. It wouldn't work for the longest spans but we need creative solutions.
How about using old aircraft carriers? Use the flight decks as bridges. Two of them, one on each bank, with a temporary span between them to allow river traffic to pass. 800-1000 ft.each plus a 100+ ft span and you could bridge a significant gap.
They just passed a massive highway and infrastructure spending program, including a bridge to nowhere. It’s not that they don’t have the money. We’re spending the money. It’s just that we are spending it on the wrong things.
why would lib/dem legislatures appropriate funds for infastructure....
they are too busy spending tax payer funds for stem cell research...and all illegal welfare projects!!!!
Isn’t building a new stadium far more important than maintaining roads, bridges, etc? Aren’t tax payers better off buying expensive facilities for “their” team than paying for road repair??? </ sacrasm>
The sadly ironic thing here is the terminal for this billion dollar waste og resources is about 1 mile from the bridge that collapsed.
I suspect the Dims are blowing smoke on the bridge collapse as being caused by Bush because in reality the bridge was built in 1967 during the Johnson administration while Lyndon was skimping on domestic projects to ramp up his war in Vietnam. More guns less butter. I’m sure the bridge design was the least costly and therefore won the contract.
The Feds need to let states pay for their own roads. Stop with the federal gas taxes and just let states take care of it. All this does is make states more dependent on the feds. These federal gas taxes are going into the general spending fund just like the Socialist Security taxes.
Dirty Little Secret:
Everyone clamors for money out of the pot.
They think, hey, why shouldn’t I get my share?
In fact, why not ask for as much as possible.
Of course, everyone else is doing the same thing, thus making the pot grow bigger and bigger.
You’re paying for everyone else’s grab.
Like Three-Card-Monte, it relies on human greed, and it works.