- Federal Highway Administration data from 2006 shows that 24.5 percent of the nation's bridges longer than 20 feet were categorized as "structurally deficient" or "functionally obsolete." According to the Department of Transportation, West Virginia has 6,343 bridges; 32% of those are over 100 feet long.
- In its most recent report card on the nation's infrastructure, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation's bridges a grade of "C" and said that in 2003 27.1 percent of them were deficient. The report also said bringing all the nation's bridges up to snuff would cost $188 billion over the next two decades.
- The Iraq war and reconstruction effort has cost U.S. taxpayers more than $300 billion.
- The State Department paid $43.8 million to contractor DynCorp International for the residential camp for police training personnel outside of Baghdad's Adnan Palace grounds that has stood empty for months. About $4.2 million of the money was improperly spent on 20 VIP trailers and an Olympic-size pool, all ordered by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior but never authorized by the U.S. U.S. officials spent another $36.4 million for weapons such as armored vehicles, body armor and communications equipment that can't be accounted for.
The beauty of small town living...
- ROSE
- Bomont, West Virginia, United States
- When you have no idea what you're doing, somebody else will ... or at least make something up & run with it.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Priorities, Anyone?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
27 comments:
I have neither the time nor the inclination to put together all the available data, but it's scary.
The bottom line always seems to be money, money, money yet boils down to politics, politics, politics.
Frankly, I don't give a rip whether or not Iraqis have infrastructure. I don't care about their roads or their water supply or their children's education.
My personal tax dollars might be pennies in the bucket, but they're much better spent right here at home.
mHow Old Are West Virginia Bridges?
West Virginia's Report Card
Yep, Bottom line always seems to be money.
West Virginia seat belt law was voted down every time until the Fed. said, unless states have a seat belt law, they would with hold Fed. highway dollars.
Guess what? We have a seat belt law.
And.. when it was first passed, it wasn't going to be enforced, not to be used as a reason for stopping anyone. Then they saw all the money being lost by not writing tickets, so now they stop people and write tickets for it.
Does anyone actually think people care so much for us, that they want us to wear a seat belt for our own safety?
If you think they actually care about our safety, just keep right on thinking that when you break down on the interstate and watch the State Police drive on by.
Sirhenry60
PS. I had my CDL physical recently and during the vision testing, the machine was so messed up I was seeing double. (Or at least I hope the machine was messed up.)
Anyway, I told the girl giving the test I couldn't tell which was which because I was seeing double.
I guess a vision test is not that important because we skipped that part, I paid my fee, and I'm good to drive for another year.
I see that DOT is ordering "immediate inspections" for various bridges now. One being the Heartland Bridge. I'm sure citizens safety isn't the priority there, but rather not get sued.
SirHenry, I'd ask that you give me some idea of where you do the majority of your traveling so I could avoid those areas, but I daresay your doublevision probably isn't the worst of what we face on the highways every day. LOL
Don't even get me started on the seatbelt thing!! GRRRRRRR! If I had the authority to write tickets, I'd end up with some serious carpal tunnel. What truly amazes me are the parents who don't buckle up their kids. I can't imagine having to watch my kid go flying out an open window or through the windshield just because I was too stinkin' lazy (stupid?) to buckle him up. I guess that's a feeling a lot of people are willing to risk, because I see a LOT of kids bouncing all around in the backseat.
I've noticed over the past few days that there are a lot of people on the news telling us how safe our bridges are here in WV & how there's no danger of the Minnesota tragedy happening here. Uh-huh. Sure. Whatever you say, Mr. Bureaucrat.
Ah, but there's just no money no money no money. Perhaps those who believe that should hire a bunch of attorneys to revamp their budget, because I guarantee attorneys are already finding bizzillions of dollars to go after.
Aside from safety I'd buckle my kids up anyway just so they aren't hanging over the front seat, "Mom" "Mom" "Mom" "Mom" "Mom" ing me to death!
hain't been to long ago we had a bridge fall in the OHIO river if i'm not mistaken. around Pt. Pleasant or Huntington.
Depends on how you measure time. That was 40 years ago.
"At 5:00 PM on December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge collapsed claiming 46 lives and injuring 9." according to http://filebox.vt.edu/users/aschaeff/silver/silver.html
My gosh, that seems so recent, it is really hard to believe that it has been 40 years! Seems like yesterday.
I feel the same way about the day I was born! LOL
Well history always repeats itself and it is sad to say its going to happen right here in Clayberry land. Hartland bridge is one of the oldest in the state and is by far nowhere near as safe as state and federal officials claim. I am not an expert in bridge safety but I am no fool to believe when a bridge drops 4 inches and is being filled in with asphalt several times in the past couple years that is still safe to travel either. The piers underneath have also been patched and still crumbling every day, and when a vehicle goes across it, underneath it sounds like a hail storm with debree falling from the bridge.
They still say its safe to travel and if so why is it being limited to weight?
I just noticed a something over on the Code V blog.
I finally posted a comment and it didn't show up. Then I noticed this disclaimer/notice.
Comment moderation has been enabled. All comments must be approved by the blog author.
Corruption in Clay Blog???
Corruption starts with Censorship
SirHenry60
duh, oink oink
Good Bye Rose!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Just read this on AW's site...
There was hope that the Dundon Bridge Ski Slope would be completed enough to allow the removal of the concrete barriers and stoplights before the 34th Annual Apple Festival in Sept. Getting word now, that ain't going to happen. Talk about traffic snarls!!
Maybe someone should ask if they could be moved for a day or two.
I mean. they move that sort of stuff all the time up and down
I-79 when they have a WVU game. I know we don't rank that high, but maybe someone could offer Clark Samples front row in the parade.
SirHenry60
Um ... Goodbye, Anon!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy trails! Bon voyage! Godspeed! Have a great trip! Been nice knowin' ya!
What purpose do the barriers serve? I don't make it to Clay very often, but when I do, it seems like I just sit there at the red light all by myself & there's never any work going on.
I've heard I'm the only one who actually stops at the light, anyway.
I just visited the Clayberry Corruption (whatever) blog. I had totally forgotten about that one!
Comment moderation is just as much of a pain as deleting comments. Seems to me, though, if you're going to host a blog devoted specifically to corruption, you have to assume you're not going to get comments filled with praise & complimentary observations.
Censorship? Or just comment manipulation?
I Saw Pat. Mcmurty back on channel 8. ANybody see it? Did he say why he been gone.
And here I've been wondering who that lady was that stopped in front of me for the red light, now I know.
And I've never noticed anyone working when I pass the bridge either but it seems to be coming along pretty good.
Maybe they are like we were when we were kids, hide from the cars when they go by.
SirHenry60
LOL I bet you're right.
Ya know, that light seems to be awfully long. Of course, I guess it just seems that way because there isn't really much traffic to distract you.
Maybe during the Apple Festival, somebody will set up an apple juice stand or something so that when the traffic does get totally snarled, we can at least have some refreshments & visit a spell.
Holy crap, man, it's 9 p.m. & it's still 90 degrees outside. Thank a soldier. They deal with this every day.
Is anybody watching the coverage on the mine collapse in Utah? I swear, those reporters ask the most idiotic questions. I know they have a lot of airtime to fill, but good grief! Someday, somebody's going to punch one of them right in the mouth.
Wake up Rose, come out and play!
on the mine collaose; they say three of the trapped miners were mexican citizens. i wonder, is this another way of saying the mine was working illegal immigrants?
follow up; if the mine collapse was caused by natural causes it can be declared a disaster and the taxpayers will likely pay damages through FEMA. However if it was caused by illegal acts of management then the company and company officials should be held responsible. greed maybe.
Here's what the Associated Press is reporting -
A spokesman for University of Utah seismologists said Wednesday that all evidence indicates it was the mine collapse, not an earthquake, that registered on a seismograph early Monday, and that scientists suspect further shaking at the site is caused by settling.
A mine collapse isn't really an "act of nature," is it?
i don't think so.
It is when you get caught with your pants down and have illegals working there. If it were Wv miners or Utah miners it would not be a natural cause. Only when it has other countrys involved does it become a natural cause. Like Rose said at the beginning of this topic I could care less about Mexs, Arabs, or any other bunch of people spend my money right here in the good ole USA. Boycott junk coming from China as they seem to be trying to price us to death and send every type of POISON they can here. Why not target the babies with lead filled toys. If its made in China leave it in China. Just because it says Fisher Price or Mattel don't make it American. Its a shame all these companys have moved out of this country to make their fortune and leave us to jobs at Wal Mart and McDonalds to buy thier Chinese made junk with American Made Prices. Screw a government that lets this happen also. It AIN'T AMERICAN either.
Post a Comment