a tragedy which did not have to happen

evince

evince

Truthmatters
The bridge collapse pinpoints our complete lack of dedication to the Infrastructure of this country.

Tax cuts are not worth deaths.
 
I realise we probably haven't had as much coverage of this incident as you have over the water but isn't it a little soon to be laying the blame?

The beeb are reporting the bridge was only inspected in 2006 with no problems found.
 
I doubt they're going to find any kind of smoking gun on this one.

Sometimes, people just don't do there jobs correctly; other times, things like this just happen.
 
I was wondering how long it was going to take before somebody would start to attempt to blame Bush.
 
The main University in that area did a study in 2001 that showed that the bridge could fail and some bridge expert says that it look like the way it failed matches the 2001 report.

The govt. checked the bridge in 2005 and 2006 and deemed it safe.

It will be awhile probably before they determine the definite cause.
 
We should privatize bridge construction and ownership, that would definetely make them more safe as companies fear lawsuits and going out of business with any problems, while government is impossible to sue and largely unaccountable.
Also of course, there would less taxes and less debt.
 
TheDanold said:
We should privatize bridge construction and ownership, that would definetely make them more safe as companies fear lawsuits and going out of business with any problems, while government is impossible to sue and largely unaccountable.
Also of course, there would less taxes and less debt.
Click to expand...

I'd be willing to bet a private company built the bridge. Who else would have done it except maybe the corp of engineers.
 
TheDanold said:
We should privatize bridge construction and ownership, that would definetely make them more safe as companies fear lawsuits and going out of business with any problems, while government is impossible to sue and largely unaccountable.
Also of course, there would less taxes and less debt.
Click to expand...
So long as the government didn't give them lawsuit protection, or set limits on the awards they can receive in the lawsuits, you may be right.

However the bridge companies would lobby, they'd get those protections, they'd have limits set, they'd ignore safety.

In a true free market there would be no protections such as that for the company, in our current society you know that there would be.
 
As of 2003, 27.1% of the nation's bridges (160,570) were structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, an improvement from 28.5% in 2000. In fact, over the past 12 years, the number of bridge deficiencies has steadily declined from 34.6% in 1992 to 27.1% in 2003. The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) strategic plan states that by 2008, less than 25% of the nation's bridges should be classified as deficient. If that goal were met, 1 in 4 bridges in the nation would still be deficient. There were 590,750 bridges in the United States in 2000; however, one in three urban bridges (31.2% or 43,189) was classified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, much higher than the national average. In contrast, 25.6% (118,381) of rural bridges were classified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.


A structurally deficient bridge is closed or restricted to light vehicles because of its deteriorated structural components. While not necessarily unsafe, these bridges must have limits for speed and weight. A functionally obsolete bridge has older design features and, while it is not unsafe for all vehicles, it cannot safely accommodate current traffic volumes, and vehicle sizes and weights. These restrictions not only contribute to traffic congestion, they pose such major inconveniences as school busses or emergency vehicles taking lengthy detours. It is estimated that it will cost $9.4 billion per year for 20 years to eliminate all bridge deficiencies. The annual investment required to prevent the bridge investment backlog from increasing is estimated at $7.3 billion. Present funding trends of state departments of transportation call into question future progress on addressing bridge deficiencies.

Adding to these problems is the inability of the Administration and Congress to reauthorize the nation's Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21), which has now had six extensions since the program expired on September 30, 2003the inability of the Administration and Congress to reauthorize the nation's Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21), which has now had six extensions since the program expired on September 30, 2003. The progress made in the TEA-21, which authorized $218 billion for the nation's highway and transit programs in 2001, is beginning to slip as America continues to shortchange funding for much-needed road and bridge repairs.


Even with uncertain funding due to the lack of a federal transportation funds reauthorization bill, additional revenues from state and local governments have begun to make an impact on bridge projects in all 50 states. Total bridge expenditures by all levels of government for capital outlays (including system preservation and system expansion) was at $8.8 billion in 2003.



http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/page.cfm?id=22


This is just the bridges folks, its the cost of tax cuts.
No Tax cut is worth these peoples lives and no false outrage for silence which only honors the people who refused to take care of the problem in the first place.
 
Desh said:
As of 2003, 27.1% of the nation's bridges (160,570) were structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, an improvement from 28.5% in 2000. In fact, over the past 12 years, the number of bridge deficiencies has steadily declined from 34.6% in 1992 to 27.1% in 2003. The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) strategic plan states that by 2008, less than 25% of the nation's bridges should be classified as deficient. If that goal were met, 1 in 4 bridges in the nation would still be deficient. There were 590,750 bridges in the United States in 2000; however, one in three urban bridges (31.2% or 43,189) was classified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, much higher than the national average. In contrast, 25.6% (118,381) of rural bridges were classified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.


A structurally deficient bridge is closed or restricted to light vehicles because of its deteriorated structural components. While not necessarily unsafe, these bridges must have limits for speed and weight. A functionally obsolete bridge has older design features and, while it is not unsafe for all vehicles, it cannot safely accommodate current traffic volumes, and vehicle sizes and weights. These restrictions not only contribute to traffic congestion, they pose such major inconveniences as school busses or emergency vehicles taking lengthy detours. It is estimated that it will cost $9.4 billion per year for 20 years to eliminate all bridge deficiencies. The annual investment required to prevent the bridge investment backlog from increasing is estimated at $7.3 billion. Present funding trends of state departments of transportation call into question future progress on addressing bridge deficiencies.

Adding to these problems is the inability of the Administration and Congress to reauthorize the nation's Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21), which has now had six extensions since the program expired on September 30, 2003the inability of the Administration and Congress to reauthorize the nation's Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21), which has now had six extensions since the program expired on September 30, 2003. The progress made in the TEA-21, which authorized $218 billion for the nation's highway and transit programs in 2001, is beginning to slip as America continues to shortchange funding for much-needed road and bridge repairs.


Even with uncertain funding due to the lack of a federal transportation funds reauthorization bill, additional revenues from state and local governments have begun to make an impact on bridge projects in all 50 states. Total bridge expenditures by all levels of government for capital outlays (including system preservation and system expansion) was at $8.8 billion in 2003.



http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/page.cfm?id=22


This is just the bridges folks, its the cost of tax cuts.
No Tax cut is worth these peoples lives and no false outrage for silence which only honors the people who refused to take care of the problem in the first place.
Click to expand...


I had no idea the national infrastructure was in such poor shape until they reported about it last night on the news. All I could think was, well, we really don't need the terrorists help to do ourselves in, do we? And yet, that's what people sit around and obsess about, terrorists. Amazing.
 
It is one I have tried to get people to talk about but the subject always dies out.

Its a real shame but it always seems to take something like this for people to do something.

Its a shame we have to keep relearning these lessons over and over instead of acting like adults and taking care of business.

Now we have to wonder what else has the constand R cry for TAX CUTS left behind?
 
Lack of funding is always blamed but the transportation budget is huge, the real problem is that government often decides what insfrastructure to spend on based on politics and pork (ie: bridge to nowhere, build in this guy's constituency rather than in that guys, etc...). Rather than what is actually needed.
You don't have those politicking measures when bridges are privately owned, companies repair what they need to based on what is in need.
 
TheDanold said:
Lack of funding is always blamed but the transportation budget is huge, the real problem is that government often decides what insfrastructure to spend on based on politics and pork (ie: bridge to nowhere, build in this guy's constituency rather than in that guys, etc...). Rather than what is actually needed.
You don't have those politicking measures when bridges are privately owned, companies repair what they need to based on what is in need.
Click to expand...
It is true that such funding has increased, even in the Bush Admin. It is where the Congress decides to spend it that creates much of the issue. Of course that doesn't look well for us Rs either considering they were in charge of where that stuff went.
 
TheDanold said:
We should privatize bridge construction and ownership, that would definetely make them more safe as companies fear lawsuits and going out of business with any problems, while government is impossible to sue and largely unaccountable.
Also of course, there would less taxes and less debt.
Click to expand...

but what about tort reform limiting lawsuits ?

Can't play it both ways Dano.


Or yes you can if bushie types are in control.

Taxes or bridge tolls the end result is the same we pay.
 
Blackflag said:
The main University in that area did a study in 2001 that showed that the bridge could fail and some bridge expert says that it look like the way it failed matches the 2001 report.

The govt. checked the bridge in 2005 and 2006 and deemed it safe.

It will be awhile probably before they determine the definite cause.
Click to expand...
This is just about par for the course. The university study said there were problems, but our always correct government said it was perfectly safe
 
When i9s the third shoe going to drop. A bridge under construction collapsed in Calif, now this one. where will the next one be??? Bad news usually comes in threes.
 
Desh said:
The bridge collapse pinpoints our complete lack of dedication to the Infrastructure of this country.

Tax cuts are not worth deaths.
Click to expand...

I agree with the problem, question is why the governor line item vetoed the transportation bill sent from the state legislature.
 
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