Posted on 08/16/2018 7:10:47 AM PDT by C19fan
Just a few months ago, I was hurrying to a meeting in Genoa. As I came out of Brin metro station and skirted along the footpath overlooking the Polcevera valley, I was suddenly confronted by the Morandi Bridge.
It wasn't just the scale of the concrete monstrosity – almost a mile long – that shocked me, but the setting.
Chaotic urban development covered every inch of the valley – dozens of railway lines, blocks of flats, an endless tangle of warehouses and roads. It was far removed from what the Italians call 'a misura d'uomo' – shaped for mankind. Instead, it screamed hubris.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
All built by the Mafia ?
And to think, we were considering renting a car and driving from Rome to Pompeii.
How can anyone feel safe driving there? ........................... Been there, its 2nd only to Boston.
Actually it kind of screams corruption and mafia based construction firms
Actually it kind of screams corruption and mafia based construction firms
Another socialist Utopia.
The notion that concrete can be corrupted by cutting the cement content is scary. Concrete mix designs are tested. And, in North America anyway, samples of concrete are taken and tested at regular intervals for major concrete projects. The only way to corrupt this system is to get to the technicians taking and managing the samples. I guess that is not hard to imagine in Italy.
“All built by the Mafia ?”
They have the concrete workers union.
Look for the union label.
I wouldn’t drive in Rome on a bet. That said, I rather enjoyed driving in rural Tuscany. It was fine. People weren’t texting, they were paying attention and getting on down the road, and accommodated others doing the same.
Ancient Roman structures still stand. Aqueducts still work. Modern socialists build garbage.
“The only way to corrupt this system is to get to the technicians taking and managing the samples. I guess that is not hard to imagine in Italy.”
Sounds like they subbed it out to “connected” Chicago “businessmen”.
It’s not safe driving there, even without bridges...................
Rented a Mercedes in Germany.
Rental agent told us we can’t take car to anywhere in the former Communist countries, OR ITALY.
Why Italy? I asked.
They will steal it and strip it, he said................
Ancient slave labor beats modern mafia union labor.
10 in the US since 2013.
I-5 at the Skatit River in Washington State
Highway in Scott City, MO
Overpass over I-75 in Ohio
Pennsy Bridge, Pennsylvania
I-10 Southern California
Bob White Bridge, VA
Pfeiffer Canyon Bride, California
I-85 Atlanta
Florida International Bridge
Of course, a couple of those were during demolition operations when they came down a lot faster than planned.
“I wouldn’t drive in Rome on a bet”
I went around Rome in a tour bus. Well above the trove of motor scooters weaving around like bees on their honeycomb.
Part of the problem with modern design is the use of computers. Back in the old days, one allowed a margin of error for safety. Now, computers calculate the bare minimum and don’t allow for human error/stupidity (see, for example, the recent scandal involving new bridges in Dallas - “Why use the bolts specified by the engineers. These bolts are much cheaper and we can get them from....”
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