States debate how to maintain bridges

[rodeodance]

Source: ap



States debate how to maintain bridges

By DINESH RAMDE, Associated Press Writer 42 minutes ago

MILWAUKEE - Two months after a deadly bridge collapse in Minnesota, state transportation officials nationwide continue to wrestle with how to preserve and upgrade thousands of bridges while short on money, officials said Sunday.
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With an estimated 74,000 bridges in the country classified as "structurally deficient" — the mark given to the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis — and with federal funding not a certainty, most transportation officials agree that the burden of devising safety strategies will fall to the states.

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One problem is that federal funding seems to reward poor stewardship — that is, states that do the worst job of maintaining bridges get the most money, said Pete Weykamp of the New York Department of Transportation. He blamed the trend on the fact that no specific agency has an apparent motivation to keep bridges in good condition.

"There isn't any particular industry that stands to gain from preservation," he said. "There are contractors, for example, but if you think of contractors in your home, they'd rather break your wall down and start anew than work with what's there."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071001/ap_on_re_us/preserving_bridges;_ylt=Age8vq5VZizddWFVs.Vf.Aqs0NUE

[BootinUp]

1. What is there to debate exactly?

I'm thinking they should submit budget requests and start fixing.

[Kagemusha]

2. Right, let's cut off the money to those with the worst bridges. Brilliant.

Then we'll have less bridges BECAUSE THEY WILL HAVE COLLAPSED and then no one needs to spend money on maintenance anymore. Excellent.

[bemildred]

3. Tax the rich. nt