Friday, February 19, 2010

Are we ever going to REALLY do something about the infrastructure in this country or don't we have the will to be honest about the problems we have?

Obama's stimulus package, one year later: Too much quick fix; too little long-term infrastructure

After a third of a century being married to a civil engineer I know a thing or two about the need for a financial real nationwide  commitment to the rebuilding of the infrastructure of this country. Read the story in the Chicago Tribune (LINK HERE).

" The American Society of Civil Engineers puts the bill’s infrastructure spending at $71.8 billion, or less than one-tenth of the package. And, as a look at Obama’s home state of Illinois reveals, much of the money being spent is simply fixing existing infrastructure rather than building a new framework." (LINK HERE)

What condition is our infrastructure in? GO TO THIS LINK for information from the American Society of Civil Engineers. They give America's infrastructure a "D." Think about that when you drive on a bridge, drink publicly supplied water, flush the toilet or pass a levee that holds back a body of water.

 Here's what they say about Illinois: 

Illinois

Top Three Infrastructure Concerns:


  1. Roads
  2. Bridges
  3. Mass Transit

Key Infrastructure Facts


  • 18% of Illinois’ bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.
  • There are 187 high hazard dams in Illinois. A high hazard dam is defined as a dam whose failure would cause a loss of life and significant property damage.
  • 9% of high hazard dams in Illinois have no emergency action plan (EAP). An EAP is a predetermined plan of action to be taken including roles, responsibilities and procedures for surveillance, notification and evacuation to reduce the potential for loss of life and property damage in an area affected by a failure or mis-operation of a dam.
  • Illinois’ drinking water infrastructure needs an investment of $13.5 billion over the next 20 years.
  • Illinois ranked 7th in the quantity of hazardous waste produced and 6th in the total number of hazardous waste producers.
  • Illinois’ ports handled 117 million tons of waterborne traffic in 2005, ranking it 8th in the nation.
  • Illinois reported an unmet need of $4.9 million for its state public outdoor recreation facilities and parkland acquisition.
  • 34% of Illinois’ major roads are in poor or mediocre condition.
  • 43% of Illinois’ major urban highways are congested.
  • Vehicle travel on Illinois’ highways increased 29% from 1990 to 2007.
  • Illinois has $13.41 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs.
So why are we piddling around with resurfacing some roads (other than the opportunity for No-bama to have that pretty "Recovery Act" sign put up to give him some political cover) when we should be REBUILDING roads from the base up and spending  money on REAL projects that would guarantee safety for the public?

Look at this link (HERE) for some REAL SOLUTIONS the ASCE has put together. Unfortunately we don't do long term planning in this country--we just wait for something to collapse or for some unfortunate incident (loss of life) before we take real action. Enough of that stupidity.


 

 

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