What do you think about the Presidential candidate’s platforms (or lack thereof) on US infrastructure?

[nerdgirl 0]

Remember when the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed in August 2007?

The July 2008 report of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Bridging the Gap: Restoring and Repairing the Nation’s Bridges found that

“One in four of our bridges are rated as deficient, either in need of repair or in need of widening to handle today’s traffic.”

Estimates that “more than $140 billion will be needed to fix them.”

“Many of the nation’s large-scale bridges have become chokepoints on the country's freeway system and a drain on the nation’s economy. The top 10 highway interchange bottlenecks cause an average of 1.5 million truck hours of delay each year.”

That’s just bridges, highways, sewers, water, and other basic infrastructure are also in need of upgrade and repair.


May be a modern example of tragedy of the commons? If we had to pay directly for it, would anyone put up with the congestion on I-495, aka the Capital Beltway; almost all of I-95 from north of Boston to Richmond VA; I-10 in Houston; I-405 in from San Fernando Valley in north LA County to Orange County, aka the San Diego Freeway, even tho’ it doesn’t extend to SD; I-90/94 in Chicago; or I-880 on the east Bay of San Francisco?


Sen Obama on Strengthening America’s Transportation Infrastructure

I can’t find anything related specifically to infrastructure on Sen McCain’s site. Found this page from About.com on “John McCain’s Views on Infrastructure” … but would prefer to compare directly Sen McCain’s policy proposals (similar page from About.com on “Barack Obama’s Views on Infrastructure”). If someone knows of something, please share.

Similarly could not find anything on former Rep Bob Barr’s site.


Do you consider the state of the nation’s infrastructure to be important?
Should the US Presidential candidates be addressing the deficits?

VR/Marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying

[kallend 1,679]

Well, we know McCain wants to spend a lot on Iraq's infrastructure.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[alw 0]

For a side by side comparison:

http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2008/0826_transportation_puentes_opp08/0826_transportation_puentes_opp08.pdf

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Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure.

[nerdgirl 0]

Quote

For a side by side comparison:

http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2008/0826_transportation_puentes_opp08/0826_transportation_puentes_opp08.pdf

Thanks for the link.

VR/Marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying

[lawrocket 3]

This has long been a problem with governmental projects. We usually have little problem building something big and grandiose, because we can see something we didn't have before. Our issues often come with maintenance.

Pretty much the last big project of the Federal-Aid Highway Act was the Big Dig. Huge issues such as the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado, and the routing of the I-70 through Utah put stuff where nothing was before.

"It is a relatively easy thing to achieve excellence. The hard part is to maintain excellence" - Al Davis.

The public will to drop billions of dollars for things like retrofitting and expanding bridges just isn't there. The effects are rarely ever seen as beneficial. "Wow. Before we had a bridge. Now we have a bridge." Then there is the populace complaining about the two years of traffic delays while it is being done, cost overruns, etc...

The problems will be the division between state and federal responsibilities. IT takes money. Unfortunately, I do not believe that the general public will fully support and infrastructure improvement until the component fails. How does one get a new bridge in Minnesota? Wait for it to collapse.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[airdvr 200]

In Ohio road repair work is almost another form of welfare. It's a cottage industry here. Winter tears up the roads and bridges and then we spend billions all the rest of the year to repair them.


http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=105717
We need to change the way we build roads. I'm not an engineer but it seems to me we could require any road being re-built must be heated if the ambient temperature of that area is below x. No need for salt. Can't imagine the damage salt does to the bridges. Not too mention it makes my car look like a Margarita glass

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[lawrocket 3]

We typically have it easy here in Cali. I know that it costs millions each year for Caltrans to maintain the I-80 in Donner Summit.

There are differences between concrete and asphalt roads. Concrete seems more durable. Asphalt is much easier to repair. Most of these are locality issues, though.

The Feds want to keep stuff moving between states (i.e., the interstate highways). I think most of the onus is upon the states, counties and cities to do this, but the states don't really want to pay for it.

Aside - since before I've lived in Fresno, there has been talk about trying to turn Highway 99 into an Interstate Highway. Most of I-5 through the Central Valley is emptiness and nothing. I-5 has Kettleman City. I-99 has Bakersfield, Tulare, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Modesto, Stockton... And all the little places in between.

California and the communities woul dlove it to be an interstate so they can get the funding for it.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[akarunway 1]

Quote

This has long been a problem with governmental projects. We usually have little problem building something big and grandiose, because we can see something we didn't have before. Our issues often come with maintenance.

Pretty much the last big project of the Federal-Aid Highway Act was the Big Dig. Huge issues such as the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado, and the routing of the I-70 through Utah put stuff where nothing was before.

"It is a relatively easy thing to achieve excellence. The hard part is to maintain excellence" - Al Davis.

The public will to drop billions of dollars for things like retrofitting and expanding bridges just isn't there. The effects are rarely ever seen as beneficial. "Wow. Before we had a bridge. Now we have a bridge." Then there is the populace complaining about the two years of traffic delays while it is being done, cost overruns, etc...

The problems will be the division between state and federal responsibilities. IT takes money. Unfortunately, I do not believe that the general public will fully support and infrastructure improvement until the component fails. How does one get a new bridge in Minnesota? Wait for it to collapse.

Ah. The Big Dig. Can you say BECHTEL? A nice little article> http://www.boston.com/globe/metro/packages/bechtel/021803a_folo.shtml I WONDER how they got the contract?

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[PhreeZone 15]

Heating driveways is a huge sink hole for money and energy. I can't imagine what it would cost for interstate to become heated. The Freeze/thaw/freeze/ thaw cycle will tear up anything that allows suffecent amounts of water to get into it, the salt has little to do with it. In terms of salts wear on bridges its faily minimal since the locations that the brine solution comes in contact with exposed metal are very rare.

I installed a heated drive way as a summer job years ago. The owners said to melt snow off of the drive way cost them about $10-12 in electric and took about 30-45 minutes to melt an inch of snow, less cost and time if they left the heat on before it started to snow. This was for about 2000 sq ft, the cost to install it was about the same as the rest of the materials combined. They did it since they were elderly and didn't want to shovel the driveway anymore. The raw cost of installing and repairs something like this on a large scale is just mindboggling. Its far cheaper to maintain the roads via repairing then it is to build heat into all new roads.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

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