CtTaxed.com

A bridge collapsed. More money must be spent here, so did the State do it’s job?

What are the functions of government?

A reasonable list would include maintenance of our common areas and infrastructure. So why when a bridge collapses half a country away is it required that another $150 million or so be spent here in Connecticut?

I have two explanations:

1) We are reactionary as a state and there is really no reason to do this other then to make a show for our employers (the state residents) that we are doing something.

2) We have neglected our infrastructure and this tragedy has reminded our employers of our incompetence.

If we as a state had really been on top of the job we would be able to trot out the state experts and exclaim all is well!

But we didn’t exclaim all is well, so it must not be all that well or that no one wants to go on record saying all is well.

Why? Because accidents happen and no one can guarantee 100% total safety. So let’s play it safe and spend another $150 million and make like we are reacting.

Which is it? I don’t know, probably only DOT can answer that, but when you say you need a quick 150$mil, you are kinda admitting to incompetence.

It appears we’ve been doing a reasonable job compared to other states on our bridges. We learned our lesson? Bet you didn’t know there was a Better Roads magazine.

A survey of state engineers in the November’s Better Roads magazine showed that 34 percent, or 206,904 bridges of the nation’s approximately 600,750 bridges are substandard.

The survey showed 55 percent of bridges are substandard in West Virginia and Massachusetts, the worst states, with 3,556 bridges and 2,788 bridges substandard, respectively.

Mississippi and Maine, each with 51 percent, and Hawaii, 50 percent, also had more than half of their bridges rated substandard, according to the survey.

But the survey showed the best state is Arizona, with 7 percent, or 417 bridges, substandard.

States with less than 20 percent of substandard bridges are Idaho, 10 percent; Nevada, 11 percent; Wyoming and Utah, each with 12 percent; Connecticut, 15 percent; and California, 19 percent, according to the survey.

Thomas Zimmie, a professor of civil engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., said bridge inspections have improved in the past five years.

“They’ve really gotten their act together,” he said. “You’ve got companies here that do nothing but bridge inspections.”

So kudos to the DOT for having one of the lowest percent of substandard bridges in the country and rotten eggs to the state elected officials for allowing 1 1/2 bridges out of 10 to be substandard.

There are legitimate functions of government, and giving me peace of mind every time I cross a river is one of them.

Failure is not an option. This really has to be 100%.

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