Minneapolis Bridge Is Symptom Of Major Infrastructure Decay
Interstate Bridge Collapses Into Mississippi River in Minneapolis
Dozens Missing as Minneapolis Search Efforts Are Halted
Problems With Bridge Uncovered in 1990: Minnesota Officials Warned Span Was 'Structurally Deficient'
3-D Animation of Bridge Collapse
Having traveled by car around and throughout this nation, I can almost certainly guarantee that the bridge collapse in Minneapolis will not be the last bridge over the Mississippi to collapse over the next 10 years. In fact, now that I live in Arkansas, and cross an older steel structure bridge into Mississippi at least two or three times every three or four months, I can guarantee that a lot of the bridges connect east to west (and vice versa) are in danger because they are neglected in the same manner as the bridge in Minnesota, and the levees in Louisiana.
In Massachusetts there has been concern over bridge infrastructure for over 20 years, yet the amount of work done to shore up and maintain these bridges are almost nil. Even when work has been done, the type of work amounts to a band-aid on a gaping wound, or a drop in a bucket considering the work that needs to be done.
Then again, the amount of fraud associated with federal and state infrastructure projects are illustrated by the amount of failures and cost overruns--as well as outright fraudulent billing--associated with the multi-billion dollars spent on the "Big Dig." The engineering design of the "Big Dig" was quite sound. However, the use of substandard materials and methods have caused collapsed tunnels and bridge problems.
Then, too, we have a much neglected inner coastal waterway along the entire Eastern Seaboard that places almost all of our shipping in danger of attack, terrorist attack, or problems of running aground.
The rebuilding of levees in Louisiana--when they are rebuilt--are once again adhering to standards and dimensions that will once again lead to disaster. The Army Corps of Engineers, which was once the epitome of professional excellence in all types of engineering, is now a political football, much in the same way as is the EPA, the entire Department of the Interior, and especially our National Parks systems.
The Mississippi has become treacherous to navigate in many spots because the money we once spent on dredging and maintaining this vital waterway is no longer allocated, or even spent in appropriate ways. In fact, the casinos operating alongside of the Mighty Muddy Mississippi spend more money on maintaining their "waterway status" than most states spend on such things.
Meanwhile, we are spending so much money in Iraq and Afghanistan that estimates now reach as high as 1.5 TRILLION--that's right, TRILLION--on projects that are neither being built in a timely manner, nor according to any standards that would be acceptable to even the least trained taxpayer. In one such case, KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, requested payment of over 40% of the contracted price for administrative costs without having built one single structure or even having the proper materials delivered... and our government paid it, without a blink of an eye.
We are--and have been for decades--neglecting our highways, bridges, ports, waterways, railways and airports. We are wasting millions on unnecessary and ineffective airport security methods than on maintaining sufficient runways and safety measures. We are wasting even more millions on secret spying and data collection methods and programs than on efficient ways to assure we can prevent terrorist attacks on our nuclear, chemical and biological infrastructure. When we add the overall neglect of our railways and highways, and the overall neglect regarding HAZMAT and incident response, we see that our nation is vulnerable to the nth degree.
The programs of railway and highway infrastructure--as well as safety and security--that were started by Eisenhower as a means of protecting our nation (all of our interstate highways were initially designed to allow the US military to respond to incidents) are being ignored and neglected.
How many lives must be lost before our leaders will return to standards of decency, true representation and the clarion call of fairness? While our politicians are busy thumping their collective chests on who is better at defending our nation, our risks, dangers and threats rise exponentially... and are ignored while we spend millions on corporations that are defrauding us out of taxes, royalties, subsidies, no-bid contracts and projects that undermine all of the infrastructure laid down by Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson.
What the hell is going on in Washington? A question we need to ask ourselves over the next four election cycles as we considered removing all the pieces of rectal tissue that have been reaching into our collective tax pockets without providing a return on the investment, taking millions in corporate bribes in the form of campaign contributions, and in lining their pockets and beefing up their influence and control dossiers in our Capitol.
Dozens Missing as Minneapolis Search Efforts Are Halted
Problems With Bridge Uncovered in 1990: Minnesota Officials Warned Span Was 'Structurally Deficient'
3-D Animation of Bridge Collapse
Having traveled by car around and throughout this nation, I can almost certainly guarantee that the bridge collapse in Minneapolis will not be the last bridge over the Mississippi to collapse over the next 10 years. In fact, now that I live in Arkansas, and cross an older steel structure bridge into Mississippi at least two or three times every three or four months, I can guarantee that a lot of the bridges connect east to west (and vice versa) are in danger because they are neglected in the same manner as the bridge in Minnesota, and the levees in Louisiana.
In Massachusetts there has been concern over bridge infrastructure for over 20 years, yet the amount of work done to shore up and maintain these bridges are almost nil. Even when work has been done, the type of work amounts to a band-aid on a gaping wound, or a drop in a bucket considering the work that needs to be done.
Then again, the amount of fraud associated with federal and state infrastructure projects are illustrated by the amount of failures and cost overruns--as well as outright fraudulent billing--associated with the multi-billion dollars spent on the "Big Dig." The engineering design of the "Big Dig" was quite sound. However, the use of substandard materials and methods have caused collapsed tunnels and bridge problems.
Then, too, we have a much neglected inner coastal waterway along the entire Eastern Seaboard that places almost all of our shipping in danger of attack, terrorist attack, or problems of running aground.
The rebuilding of levees in Louisiana--when they are rebuilt--are once again adhering to standards and dimensions that will once again lead to disaster. The Army Corps of Engineers, which was once the epitome of professional excellence in all types of engineering, is now a political football, much in the same way as is the EPA, the entire Department of the Interior, and especially our National Parks systems.
The Mississippi has become treacherous to navigate in many spots because the money we once spent on dredging and maintaining this vital waterway is no longer allocated, or even spent in appropriate ways. In fact, the casinos operating alongside of the Mighty Muddy Mississippi spend more money on maintaining their "waterway status" than most states spend on such things.
Meanwhile, we are spending so much money in Iraq and Afghanistan that estimates now reach as high as 1.5 TRILLION--that's right, TRILLION--on projects that are neither being built in a timely manner, nor according to any standards that would be acceptable to even the least trained taxpayer. In one such case, KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, requested payment of over 40% of the contracted price for administrative costs without having built one single structure or even having the proper materials delivered... and our government paid it, without a blink of an eye.
We are--and have been for decades--neglecting our highways, bridges, ports, waterways, railways and airports. We are wasting millions on unnecessary and ineffective airport security methods than on maintaining sufficient runways and safety measures. We are wasting even more millions on secret spying and data collection methods and programs than on efficient ways to assure we can prevent terrorist attacks on our nuclear, chemical and biological infrastructure. When we add the overall neglect of our railways and highways, and the overall neglect regarding HAZMAT and incident response, we see that our nation is vulnerable to the nth degree.
The programs of railway and highway infrastructure--as well as safety and security--that were started by Eisenhower as a means of protecting our nation (all of our interstate highways were initially designed to allow the US military to respond to incidents) are being ignored and neglected.
How many lives must be lost before our leaders will return to standards of decency, true representation and the clarion call of fairness? While our politicians are busy thumping their collective chests on who is better at defending our nation, our risks, dangers and threats rise exponentially... and are ignored while we spend millions on corporations that are defrauding us out of taxes, royalties, subsidies, no-bid contracts and projects that undermine all of the infrastructure laid down by Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson.
What the hell is going on in Washington? A question we need to ask ourselves over the next four election cycles as we considered removing all the pieces of rectal tissue that have been reaching into our collective tax pockets without providing a return on the investment, taking millions in corporate bribes in the form of campaign contributions, and in lining their pockets and beefing up their influence and control dossiers in our Capitol.
posted by Jim Downey at 6:35 PM
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