Friday, August 03, 2007

And NOW They Want Something Done?

The tragic bridge collapse in Minnesota has brought the questions out again. No-one thinks about these things until a disaster happens. First the pipes in New York City, now this. Suddenly critics abound. Where have they been? 600,000 bridges in this country are at risk. Over 27% are considered to be questionable. A lot of bridges are inspected on a periodic basis. Some are given extra inspection after significant rain or other weather problems. Just what do they inspect? Do they make any recommendations? Suddenly the local, state, and national folks are concerned about our decaying infrastructure. Where have they been all these years? Surely they have been aware of the possiblities of disasters. Many of our cities and states have streets, buildings, bridges, plumbing and sewer and water systems which are not only old but dangerous. Even the electric grid system has had problems. No one seems to want to take responsibility. Just try to legislate the money necessary to fix these problems. To fix these problems correctly would cost more money than most people are willing to spend. It is easier to put a bandaid on this growing problem and hope for good luck than to seriously make a long term fix. There are other countries which have better road and bridge systems. Many have water control systems which are rated to last more than 100 years, some even a lot longer. Why don't we take a hard look at how we build our infrastructure? Oh, yeah, now some people are demanding that look and want something done now. Now? We may be too late.

2 comments:

Lori's Minute said...

I feel like nothing has been learned from the Katrina disaster either. I would ike communities to step up and say, "This is what we will do if a disaster strikes". I would also like sister cities so when a disaster strikes a certain area, the sister cities from the country are the ones that step and help out. I would like to hear some sort of plan rather than do nothing.

pineapple said...

When I lived in New Orleans, every year they would talk about how the levees were in need of serious repair. See how well that turned out. There are thousands of bridges that have the same rating (or worse) than the bridge that collapsed. Yet, they tell us that they are safe. Yeah, right. Let's face it, it is much more important to fund a stupid war that we shouldn't be in and let our own country fall apart around our ears than to fix what needs fixing.