PHOTOS: MA Bridge Carrying 50,000 Vehicles/Day Appears Ready to Collapse

[ensho]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/24/1029568/-PHOTOS:-MA-Bridge-Carrying-50,000-Vehicles-Day-Appears-Ready-to-Collapse?via=siderec


-snip-

The photographs of the structure are striking, scary and inform the dire situation countless U.S. bridges are in.

-snip of pics of the bridge undersides-

Kudos to Hurley for making note of this dangerous situation. This type of direct action, especially if it is able to either gain broader attention or wind up on the desks of the policy makers on Capitol Hill, can only help.
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its suggested to find another route then this bridge - or if you like to gamble, keep on driving this bridge

[rfranklin]

1. when it does, let's hope the Republican prez candidates are on the bus that plunges...

if Jesus were a regular Joe, he would do it.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

2. This needs to go viral. But the repukes could care less.

Why do they hate our country so much?

[Scuba]

3. I'm no bridge inspector, but those photos make it hard to believe the bridge could be safe. n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. ewww. It looks old and rusty

[Warpy]

28. It's also close enough to the ocean that it needs frequent repainting

to protect it from rust and it looks like that repainting was neglected for years. Now it's so rusty that paint won't stick, even if the structural supports are still there (and they're not in a few of these shots).

If people in the area are very, very lucky, that bridge will subside before it collapses, the 2-6 inch difference in roadbed height being enough to close the damned thing.

This is why we need higher taxes on the rich and confiscatory taxes on the predators who rake in more than a million bucks a year. Their continued looting of government and the larger economy will kill us if we don't enact them.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. That is horrific and striking

But republicans will not authorize the monies...jobs ain't a good idea with a democrat in the WH

[sinkingfeeling]

6. According to the GOP all monies must go to either the military or Homeland Defense.

[FarCenter]

7. Clearly needs paint

Whether it is unsound is hard to say.

[onethatcares]

35. I agree, we should apply several coats of that

primer/top coat stuff and that'll fix it right up. Or better yet, use Rust-O-Leum heavily rusted metal primer first then add a coat or two of that pink turning to white ceiling paint. No one will ever know the difference.

:hide:

[bluestate10]

45. Massachusetts is active at inspecting bridges.

The photographer and the DU ameners need to pull their heads out of their asses and go into republican land, where truly crumbling infrastructure that is being ignored is located.

[Rockholm]

8. This bridge is in my town! However, the bridge was just redone.

It has been in the process of being rebuilt for the past two years. It is a beautiful bridge, one of two that connects our island with the mainland.

[Fla Dem]

12. Just checked Bing Maps and both the aerial and birds-eye views showed

evidence of construction activity. Crossed that bridge many times in my childhood to get to Rockport, Long Beach and Glouster. Always knew when we crossed the brigde, we were almost there.

[FarCenter]

15. According to later comments on dkos, repairs are 85% complete

The surface looks completely new on Google satellite view.

[nc4bo]

17. Facebook photo says this was taken abotu a week ago. So I'm left assuming that

the bridge only has 15% to go until repair is complete?

Surely this is a mistake, right?

[FarCenter]

26. From the local State Senator's blog post in July, 2011

The east end of the main span has been cleaned and primed. The additional areas of deterioration to the structural steel have been fully exposed. MassDOT continues to work with the design consultant (Gill Engineering) to determine the appropriate course of action to implement repairs. Based on the additional scope of steel repairs and the delays that occurred as a result of the issues surrounding the prior painting subcontractor, the project’s completion date is expected to be extended until sometime in spring/summer 2012.

http://www.tarrtalk.com/2011/07/piatt-andrew-bridge-update.html

I'm not sure what the issue is, other than perhaps the paint should not have been left to deteriorate to that extent. But politicians are generally penney wise and pound foolish when it comes to infrastructure maintenance. It's hard to cut a ribbon on a paint job.

[Raksha]

21. Good to know the bridge is being repaired.

The pictures freaked me out on a gut level. My father was an engineer who worked in structural steel, as I explained in another post.

[graywarrior]

37. Hey, I used to live in Gloucester!

Worked on Main Street and drove a bus for a while.

[Rockholm]

49. Awesome! Heaven on Earth.

[graywarrior]

50. Love that town!

I keep trying to get back there to live.

[bluestate10]

42. The OP does not realize that Massachusetts is one of the most active

states at rebuilding bridges that are remotely close to being at risk. The photographer obviously can't tell salt induced surface rusting from serious structural damage. And the photos get traction, with a cry of making the viral.

[Avalux]

9. It's going to take a catastrophic collapse of this nature to jolt people.

Obama can talk about it, but until something happens, people kind of go "meh". No one realizes the infrastructure problems we have in this country and it will take a tragedy to spur action. Of course even with that, the Pukes in Congress probably won't do anything.

[woo me with science]

18. Minneapolis, Minnesota 2007

13 people killed, 145 injured. Yes, imagine what the toll would have been during rush hour in New York or Chicago or LA.

[Indydem]

25. You do know that that collapse had nothing to do with poor maintenance, right?

It was designed and built wrong, and they overloaded the bridge with construction equipment.

It didn't just collapse.

[woo me with science]

36. No, actually I wasn't aware of that.

I remembered President Obama calling attention to the bridge collapse when he made a speech about the importance of regular maintenance, and I assumed he had his facts straight.

[Indydem]

48. Relevant wiki:

On November 13, 2008, the NTSB released the findings of its investigation. The primary cause was the under-sized gusset plates, at 0.5 inches (13 mm) thick. Contributing to that design or construction error was the fact that 2 inches (51 mm) of concrete were added to the road surface over the years, increasing the dead load by 20%. Also contributing was the extraordinary weight of construction equipment and material resting on the bridge just above its weakest point at the time of the collapse. That load was estimated at 578,000 pounds (262,000 kg) consisting of sand, water, and vehicles. The NTSB determined that corrosion was not a significant factor, but that inspectors did not routinely check that safety features were functional.

[leeroysphitz]

10. Don't worry the invisible hand of the free market will fix the bridge.

Just as soon as some job creator finds a way to charge everybody that uses it 19.95 a month.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

11. Decades of GOP corruption, their shrinking of govt funds, and their enriching the rich has done this

Thanks, Repukes!

[sweetapogee]

27. puke corruption

in Blue MA no less. No one is safe.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

30. No one is safe from the bloodthirsty puke pigs. nt

[sweetapogee]

33. that's what I said

and in MA no less

[Sarah Ibarruri]

34. Anywhere! That's why I'm in love with the OWS movement. nt

[AngkorWot]

13. Huh.

What do actual engineers and bridge inspectors have to say about it?

[sam11111]

14. "tax cuts for the rich" to blame...few realize that

Ditto "t c f t r" cause of

Few food inspectors
A third less cops
94% cut to mental health

[snooper2]

16. That's nothing a sandblaster and a little JB Weld won't fix

[Raksha]

19. Omigod...my father is turning in his grave.

He was an engineer who worked in structural steel. He worked for the city of New York and he designed bridges like that. He was killed in a train wreck when I was five years old, and yet I can feel his outrage as I'm typing this.

[Indydem]

20. I call bullshit

This bridge JUST GOT a $22.3M facelift with structural work, paint, and upgrades.

If this is truly the condition of the bridge, everyone from the governor down to the supervisor on this project ought to go to jail.

[nc4bo]

22. The photos referred to in his Facebook account show they were just taken a week ago...

It would be fantastic if someone else could possibly take photos of the repairs showing new structural steel in place. It'd clear up anything that could be misleading or nonfactual.

Serious stuff.

[Indydem]

23. I can view his facebook and all his other photos.

But the album link on Kos is unavailable - which just adds to my suspicion.

[nc4bo]

24. Yea - this needs to be cleared up asap

No sense causing outrage where none should exist.

[bluestate10]

44. A lie that goes unchecked is a lie. But it works.

I know that Massachusetts leads the nation in rebuilding bridges and roads. Inspections are happening constantly. If the bridge was truly a danger to drivers, it would already have been shut the fuck down. The is one more piece of evidence of the extremes some posing on DU calling themselves progressives will go to to cause distortions that hurt hard working democratic leaders. Why wouldn't the photo owner pick REAL crumbling bridges in Alabama, or Louisiana?

[bluestate10]

43. The Governor has been resolute in re-building roads and bridges.

Resolute. Anyone that has attempted to drive in Massachusetts know that repairs are happening.

[LynneSin]

29. Man if I drove over that bridge everyday I'd be finding a new way to get to where I was going

:scared:

[AsahinaKimi]

31. If the Golden Gate bridge looked like that...

I would take the FERRY to Sausalito or just not go...

[Warren DeMontague]

32. Maybe if we could get some pot smoking cancer grannies out on it, we could have some $ to deal w/it

I mean, maybe not fix it, but at least throw it in prison for getting high.

[Obamanaut]

38. It's a shame MA can't qualify for some of the foreign aid money going all over the world. nt

[malaise]

39. Shocking

I don't recognize this America :cry:

[valerief]

40. As long as the bridge doesn't carry the 1%, it doesn't matter. It can crumble and kill for all they

care.

[lynne]

41. Is this bridge state or federal responsibility?

Does that change state by state or make a difference as to what type road the bridge is on? I believe the roads in my state are maintained by the state.

[Maraya1969]

46. Can't this be deemed an EMERGENCY???? To get it fixed

[Indydem]

47. It's already being fixed.

It's been under repair for 2 years.

The guy who took these photos appears to be a liar.