Comments on: I-35W bridge downed by design flaw; infrastructure issues fade from headlines

By: Russ Wellen

Russ Wellen — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 05:20:53 +0000

Britisher, is it possible the US followed a policy of non-redundancy because it expected infrastructure repair to be a growth industry?

Unfortunately, due to gasbags like Gov. Le Petomane, it never came to pass (unlike the gas).

By: Britisher

Britisher — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 19:42:56 +0000

Once upon a time such structures were ‘over-engineered’, In my area the 76 year old Pulaski Skyway ( which carries far more traffic than was ever even imagined by the engineers) is currently having its “NON-REDUNDANT” supports repaiired.
I remember my father being so impressed with the US National Highway System (completed in the late 60′s) when it was just a few years old and though it so superior to UK motorways. What he didn’t appreciate at the time though is that US highways have very simple bases about 12-13″ thick. In the standard UK and european highway base is 23″ thick with more layers of varying aggregate material. Euro highways last twice as long 40 years compared to 20) as US highways before maintainence is required. Regular roads are similar in comparision. I suspect the US learned the short term benefits of cheap and fast engineering and construction during WWII and applied it to anything and everything in the public sector and never looked back.

By: Dr. Denny

Dr. Denny — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 16:16:22 +0000

Sadly, when governments put money into infrastructure, too many hands direct its placement. If you’re a senator or representative, you don’t want to spend money just fixing something; you want to build something NEW so that you can be memorialized. Ditto governors and heads of federal agencies.

Long live the “Gov. William J. Le Petomane Memorial Highway.”

By: Brian Angliss

Brian Angliss — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 06:17:30 +0000

If we’re lucky, the economic infusion plan Congress and Bush II are considering will include infrastructure upkeep and repair along with everything else. 1% of GDP put into rebates, building maintenance, and infrastructure repair/modernization would be a huge and necessary influx of money.

Unfortunately, it’s just a drop in the ocean of what’s needed. But you have to start somewhere, I guess.

By: Support this story on Stirrdup

Support this story on Stirrdup — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 01:28:27 +0000

I-35W bridge downed by design flaw; infrastructure issues fade from headlines…

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By: www.buzzflash.net

www.buzzflash.net — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 01:15:19 +0000

I-35W bridge downed by design flaw…

The flaw: Undersized gusset plates. So, case closed? It wasnâ€™t a portentous sign of a failing national infrastructure after all? Nope. The discovery of a tragic design flaw does not change the fact that the nationâ€™s public infrastructure systems ar…