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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:00 am
by Cliff
Here's a list of deficient or obsolete bridges by state;

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20093413/

So far it's the best I could find. There are several states worse off than Minnesota.

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:05 am
by mefford76
no, no, we're agreeing on the state of things. The only point is, is the media calling out Minnesota as being particularly bad. I am not reading local Minnesota papers. I read CNN mainly and they seem to imply something else. http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/08/bridge ... index.html
Read for yourself. Maybe I am just imagining.
1.
State engineers recommended in 2000 that the Interstate 35W bridge that collapsed last week be replaced or redecked, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Wednesday.
2.
That 2000 recommendation followed reports beginning four years earlier that raised concerns about the bridge, Star Tribune reporter Pat Doyle said Wednesday on CNN's "American Morning."
3.
Engineers were so concerned, "They ended some reports with exclamation points," Doyle said.
the first 3 statements in this article don't seem to talk about the issue the way we see it. it's deceiving if you ask me.

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:09 am
by Cliff
Apparently the bridge that collapsed had a rating of 50.

There are bridges around the country that take heavy traffic that are rated at 0 and 2, apparently. Many more in the teens, twenties, and thirties.

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:13 am
by Cliff
mefford76 wrote:no, no, we're agreeing on the state of things. The only point is, is the media calling out Minnesota as being particularly bad. I am not reading local Minnesota papers. I read CNN mainly and they seem to imply something else. http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/08/bridge ... index.html
Read for yourself. Maybe I am just imagining.
1. 2. 3. the first 3 statements in this article don't seem to talk about the issue the way we see it. it's deceiving if you ask me.
I guess it depends which news source you're looking at.

If you go here;
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20159730/

There's a video clip on the right hand side titled;
Are other U.S. bridges safe?
It leads you to the conclusion that while the government is saying "There's no need to fear" there are bridges that are MUCH worse off than the 50-rated 35W.

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:21 am
by mefford76
that is totally possible. but i have read i think 3, possibly 4 articles on CNN that do not do that. and are similar to what I have posted. I don't get my news from CNN anyway, I just feel like it keeps me in tune with what the general public is hearing. it's good to hear that other papers/sites are giving a more balanced report.

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:59 am
by Cliff
mefford76 wrote:that is totally possible. but i have read i think 3, possibly 4 articles on CNN that do not do that. and are similar to what I have posted. I don't get my news from CNN anyway, I just feel like it keeps me in tune with what the general public is hearing. it's good to hear that other papers/sites are giving a more balanced report.
I guess I just don't see how they can shift the blame. It's always been my perception that the federal government, and not just the state, had a hand in things like bridges and levees.

Maybe I have the wrong impression.

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 3:44 pm
by John
Cliff wrote:I guess I just don't see how they can shift the blame. It's always been my perception that the federal government, and not just the state, had a hand in things like bridges and levees.

Maybe I have the wrong impression.
I'm biting my tougue because I could take this way over the line into politics... but the state gets some money from the feds to maintain roads and bridges, I'm not sure it all gets to those projects though.

That list that is linked to here is a little old. One local bridge they have listed has been replaced.

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 8:55 pm
by Cliff
John wrote: I'm biting my tougue because I could take this way over the line into politics... but the state gets some money from the feds to maintain roads and bridges, I'm not sure it all gets to those projects though.
I'd be happy to take the conversation to PM. I really don't know much about it and am willing to listen to what you have to say.
That list that is linked to here is a little old. One local bridge they have listed has been replaced.
It was the best I could do :cry:

heh, the information on that stuff was a little scarce. If not for this incident I doubt I would have been able to find any at all.

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 10:27 pm
by John
Cliff wrote: It was the best I could do :cry:

heh, the information on that stuff was a little scarce. If not for this incident I doubt I would have been able to find any at all.
Hey Cliff, you got what you could find. It souldn't take ten minutes to get that info, but it has reached a point where we almost have to hire an expert to find gov't info online if we don't have hours to spend searching.

It bothers me that we don't have better/up-to-date information on the subject. Take a look at the Fed's transportation budget numbers, but we can't get recent information on the conditions? Or is it because they would prefer we don't really look at what is in the those bills?

Now I'm out of this thread... Mike may delete this post and I won't complain.