Over 65,000 U.S. bridges in need of repair

[n2doc]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Motorists coming off the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge into Washington are treated to a postcard-perfect view of the U.S. Capitol. The bridge itself, however, is about as ugly as it gets: The steel underpinnings have thinned since the structure was built in 1950, and the span is pocked with rust and crumbling concrete.

District of Columbia officials were so worried about a catastrophic failure that they shored up the horizontal beams to prevent the bridge from falling into the Anacostia River.

And safety concerns about the Douglass bridge, which is used by more than 70,000 vehicles daily, are far from unique.

An Associated Press analysis of 607,380 bridges in the most recent federal National Bridge Inventory showed that 65,605 were classified as "structurally deficient" and 20,808 as "fracture critical." Of those, 7,795 were both — a combination of red flags that experts say indicate significant disrepair and similar risk of collapse.

more

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/15/bridges-need-repair/2816881/

[Mnemosyne]

1. My grandson loves to fish under bridges, needless to say we're in PA and you can

almost watch them crumble when cars go across.

But at least someone received great tax breaks!

[BlueToTheBone]

2. We have dozens of bridges in Arkansas

that are in dire need of repair. Of course, our puke congressman just wants to pass anti abortion bills and defund the ACA.

[G_j]

3. yep :(