The Infrastructure Thread (formerly BI: America's infrastructure is decaying)

[China]

The article below is from a couple of months ago, but with the coronavirus epidemic resources are (rightfully so) going towards that and infrastructure problems are being ignored.  There was a bridge collapse in Italy today, will we be seeing this in the US in the future?

 

America's infrastructure is decaying — here's a look at how terrible things have gotten

 

President Donald Trump is expected to discuss infrastructure in his State of the Union address on Tuesday, but how exactly he plans to do so is unclear.

 

The Washington Post reports that White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told CNN on Tuesday that infrastructure could be an area of compromise for Democrats and Republicans, but according to The Wall Street Journal, Trump Administration officials pushed for the removal of a call for Congress to pass Trump’s infrastructure plan from an early draft of his State of the Union address.

 

Trump reportedly "hates" major parts of the infrastructure plan he unveiled in 2018, which proposed $200 billion in federal funding designed to finance new projects and repairs while incentivizing private investment.

 

No matter what Trump says about infrastructure during his State of the Union address, one thing is clear: America's infrastructure is in dire need of repairs.

 

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2017 Infrastructure Report Card, which is published every four years, US infrastructure gets a D+ grade. It got the same grade in 2013.

The ASCE estimates the US needs to spend some $4.5 trillion by 2025 to improve the state of the country's roads, bridges, dams, airports, schools, and more.

 

Click on the link for the full article

Edited May 28, 2021 by China

[DCSaints_fan]

I remember after Trump won the election, this was being pushed big time by members of his campaign.  Bannon in particular, I believe was pushing for it.  Then for the next three years, it was crickets.

[Mr. Sinister]

Don't worry. When a big bridge collapse in a blue state kills hundreds in the near future, we know who's fault it'll really be

[Renegade7]

21 minutes ago, Mr. Sinister said:

Don't worry. When a big bridge collapse in a blue state kills hundreds in the near future, we know who's fault it'll really be

 

145 injured instead of killed isn't the same or enough of wake up call apparently.

 

https://www.npr.org/2017/08/01/540669701/10-years-after-bridge-collapse-america-is-still-crumbling

 

I agree with you on knowing some will put what blame where, but I think even Trump can be convinced to do Infrastructure investment to jump start the economy. 

 

Think they already talking about it, silver linking, I guess.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/us/politics/infrastructure-week-coronavirus.html

 

 

[TheGreatBuzz]

I thought this was infrastructure week?

[Renegade7]

1 hour ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

I thought this was infrastructure week?

 

Ikr?

 

This may be one of the few ways to bring economy back, it won't be retail, that's for sure.  I've heard some people say WW2 brought us out the depression, idk, I'd like to believe it wouldn't of done it alone without the New Deal.

 

Better later then never on "Infrastructure Week", he might finally get it if he can get out his own way.

Edited April 9, 2020 by Renegade7

[Hersh]

The Dems were ready to sign onto a huge infrastructure bill. **** that nonsense, we need more tax cuts. 

[PokerPacker]

I'm a small government person, but one thing I do think government should be spending on is infrastructure.

[Larry]

11 minutes ago, Renegade7 said:

I've heard some people say WW2 brought us out the impression

 

I've heard that, too.  

 

From people who are pushing the notion that trickle down economics is proven to work (and Kensyian economics proven a failure.)  

 

He's a short summary of their "reasoning".  

 

Data:  

 

Year    GDP    % Growth    

1930    92.2          Great Depression Begins
1931    77.4   -16
1932    59.5   -23
1933    57.2    -4    FDR Takes office.  Begins New Deal.
1934    66.8    17
1935    74.2    11
1936    84.8    14
1937    93.0    10
1938    87.4    -6    Recession
1939    93.4     7
1940   102.9    10
1941   129.3    26

How to get to "The New Deal didn't end the Great Depression, WW2 did":  

 

1)  Ignore the fact that the New Deal caused GDP to grow, from 33-40, at an average rate of 8.5%/year (including the recession years.)  

2)  Seize on the year 1939, the year when GDP wiped out the losses of 30-33.

3)  Pretend that the end of the GD was an instantaneous event that happened in the instant of 1939, instead of happening over the previous 7 years.

4)  Announce that the Great Depression ended in an instant, in 1939, because of WW2 (which the US entered on Dec 8, 1941.)  ("But gee, the war was already in progress in Europe, then."
 

[skinfan2k]

The problem with infrastructure in this country is that labor is too damn expensive.  Thats why nothing actually ever goes to the actual infrastructure.  Most of it goes to labor costs. 

[Larry]

13 minutes ago, skinfan2k said:

The problem with infrastructure in this country is that labor is too damn expensive.  Thats why nothing actually ever goes to the actual infrastructure.  Most of it goes to labor costs. 

 

If only American workers were getting paid less.  

[The Evil Genius]

As a former transportation planner of 17 years, I'd say the roadway infrastructure is 10x worse than what you can ever imagine or read about. 

 

Everyone complains about the roads, no one wants to pay the actual costs for the upkeep. 

Edited April 9, 2020 by The Evil Genius

[skinfan2k]

https://www.businessinsider.com/dubai-automated-driverless-metro-2018-11#the-sleek-design-of-the-stations-is-no-accident-the-stations-were-designed-by-aedas-one-of-the-worlds-leading-architecture-firms-6

 

Read this article. They built the entire metro system for what is costing us to build the silver line.  The silver line has been in talks for 20+ years and still not finish.  We have too much red tape and labor costs which slows down the work here . 

[The Evil Genius]

The red tape to transit projects is mostly political. Those delays cause massive cost increases.

[PokerPacker]

46 minutes ago, The Evil Genius said:

As a former transportation planner of 17 years, I'd say the roadway infrastructure is 10x worse than what you can ever imagine or read about. 

 

Everyone complains about the roads, no one wants to pay the actual costs for the upkeep. 

Which is why we get the worst of both worlds: private toll roads.
"Hmm, we could pay for these roads with taxes.  As public infrastructure, it is for everybody to use, so it makes sense that everyone contributes with a flat-tax fairly distributing the burden."

"Or!--And stick with me here--We outsource the infrastructure to a private for-profit entity that not only costs more money to line the pockets of the company, but also has a regressive payment structure such that the poor pay a higher percentage of their income than the rich to use it, so they either end up worse-off than paying taxes for a public road, or they're stuck on ****tier, more congested roads or lanes losing hours of their life every day while people driving Lexuses speed by them."

[skinfan2k]

39 minutes ago, PokerPacker said:

more congested roads or lanes losing hours of their life every day while people driving Lexuses speed by them."

I get offended by people calling them the lexus lanes. i drive one and use the regular lanes like you normal folks. 

[The Evil Genius]

And tbf the biggest assholes who act the most entitled on the road are Prius and BMW drivers. 

[PokerPacker]

1 hour ago, skinfan2k said:

I get offended by people calling them the lexus lanes. i drive one and use the regular lanes like you normal folks. 

You're one of the good ones. 😉

[China]

2 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

And tbf the biggest assholes who act the most entitled on the road are Prius and BMW drivers. 

 

Well, I think Mercedes drivers fit into that category, they just are a little less self aware, and also not aware of anybody else either, as if those other little peons on the road aren't worth their time or consideration.

[88Comrade2000]

Just develop Star Trek beaming technology and shuttle crafts and you won’t need much infrastructure.

[SkinsFTW]

On 4/9/2020 at 2:47 PM, The Evil Genius said:

Everyone complains about the roads, no one wants to pay the actual costs for the upkeep. 

 

And whenever you do pay out the ass for the roads, such as I76 across Pennsylvania, you are likely to get worse roads than the free roads in other states, with fewer rest areas and almost nowhere to exit.

[88Comrade2000]

14 hours ago, SkinsFTW said:

 

And whenever you do pay out the ass for the roads, such as I76 across Pennsylvania, you are likely to get worse roads than the free roads in other states, with fewer rest areas and almost nowhere to exit.

The PA Turnpike is one of the worst highways out there.

[Captain Wiggles]

1 hour ago, Rdskns2000 said:

The PA Turnpike is one of the worst highways out there.

 

My moms car dropped its transmission on the PA turnpike. Probably 1986ish. Talk about a nightmare situation. 

[The Evil Genius]

I'd suspect part of the reason is that they (the PA Turnpike Commission) are separate from PennDOT. 

[China]

West Seattle Bridge could be closed through end of 2021

 

The West Seattle Bridge is slated to remain closed for the rest of 2020 and could be off limits to traffic through all of 2021 as well, city officials said Wednesday.

 

The announcement was made by the city's Department of Transportation on Wednesday during a briefing. Mayor Jenny Durkan said the bridge will remain closed until further notice.

"I will not allow any car to go over the bridge until it is safe," she said during the meeting.

 

Recent inspections have found the cracks that forced the immediate closure of one of Seattle’s major thoroughfare have continued to spread despite the elimination weeks ago of traffic crossing the bridge.

 

The bridge originally opened in 1984 and is one of the region's busiest, with about 100,000 vehicles using it every day before the COVID-19 pandemic significantly curtailed vehicular traffic in the city.

 

Municipal officials closed the bridge on March 23 after cracks started to accelerate on the edges of the center span.

 

Crews have been inspecting the bridge for new and growing cracks every day and the bridge has been determined safe for the crews to work.

 

SDOT Director Sam Zimbabwe said the bridge is not in any “immediate” danger of failing but the city is making contingency plans just in case.

 

He estimated that the costs for the initial shoring of the bridge and traffic mitigation measures needed just to stabilize the structure is $33 million.

 

Click on the link for the full article