Another example of our crumbling infrastructure that could provide jobs

[Springer9]

A few days after a 110-pound light fixture crashed from the ceiling of the Tip O’Neill tunnel onto one of the busiest roads in Boston, a highway crew made an alarming discovery: nine other lights in the sprawling Big Dig tunnels were hanging from supports so corroded that they could fail at any time, too.

Crews begin installing straps to prevent lights from collapsing in future
The Big Dig already had a tragic experience with dangerous falling objects. A tunnel ceiling panel had collapsed in 2006, killing a woman a few hundred yards from where the nine corroded fixtures were discovered on Feb. 16. State engineers had no way of knowing how many more of the 25,000 lights in the Big Dig tunnels had become unstable - and plenty of reason to fear that corrosion was widespread after years of saltwater leaking into the tunnels.

Falling bridges in Mn and collapsing tunnels in Ma all need attention. Decades of neglect are ruining our country. These can be good paying union jobs if we were to put some effort into it.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/07/10/worries_about_lights_were_kept_in_the_dark/

[Mimosa]

1. We're spending money bombing infrastructure in Libya

Over the past 10 years we've spent a few trillion bombing targets in central Asia and more recently Libya. Then we build roads, clinics and schools in Afghanistan and Iraq. Meanwhile, at home things are crumbling. WHY?

[MadHound]

2. If you're running down I-70 in Missouri,

Don't inspect the underside of the overpasses very closely. Otherwise you'll be paralyzed.

The concrete is degrading quickly, and it regularly falls. It has caused a couple of deaths, and I don't know how many accidents.

Not to mention that the roads throughout the state and nation are degrading as well, cracks, potholes, its a nightmare. It has already cost me money as well in the form of new wheel weights and new shocks, probably has cost you money as well.

[sad sally]

3. Was reported in the local paper yesterday that our new (republican) congresswoman

was proud of her defense bill vote this week, that included $10 billion per month for infrastructure in Afghanistan.

Imagine what $10 billion per month would do rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure in America.

And to add insult to injury, there was this story:

Military commanders in Afghanistan tapped a new $400 million Defense Department infrastructure fund to bring electricity to Kandahar and begin building provincial justice centers as part of the military’s program to secure Kandahar and Helmand provinces, according to senior administration officials.

“General McChrystal — and then after he took over, General Petraeus — made very clear that increasing and making sustainable an electricity supply for the city of Kandahar was an essential part of our campaign plan and in order to defeat the Taliban,” David S. Sedney, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia, told a Senate committee on June 30.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), chairman of the contracting oversight subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, questioned why the new Afghanistan Infrastructure Fund was being used for long-term construction programs that usually would be funded through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-security/senators-question-military-spending-on-afghanistan-infrastructure/2011/07/05/gHQASzZnzH?du

[SlipperySlope]

4. That tunnel is only a few years old!

That just pisses me off.

That tunnel is only a few years old. This isn't a case of some long-neglected bridge or tunnel that didn't have the proper maintenance done. This is practically a brand-new piece of infrastructure, less than a decade old, that is already starting to fall apart.

Somebody should be held responsible for this. There was either poor engineering done, or somebody cut corners and didn't follow specifications to the letter. The subcontractor responsible should be completely liable for the replacement.

Edit: Now I've read the full article and I'm even angrier about this.

[TheMightyFavog]

5. My girlfriend scared me when we traveled on the Viaduct in Seattle...

She told me "Better hope there's not an earthquake while we're on The Viaduct or we're goners!"

From what I saw of the Viaduct, it kind of scared me...