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chegitz guevara
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Ft. Lauderdale, FL Communist Party of Apolyton
Jun 2000
time: 00:30
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Report blasts American infrastructure
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By LESLIE MILLER
Sept. 4, 2003 |
WASHINGTON (AP) -- America's infrastructure is full of cracks, leaks and holes and is getting worse, according to an analysis by civil engineers that gives the nation's transportation, water and energy systems an overall grade of D-plus.
A report by the American Society of Civil Engineers released Thursday said the condition of 12 categories of infrastructure hasn't improved in the past two years. The report blamed a weak economy, limited federal programs, population growth and the threat of terrorism, which diverted money to security.
"Americans' concerns about security threats are real, but so are the threats posed by crumbling infrastructure," Thomas Jackson, ASCE president, said in a statement. "It doesn't matter if the dam fails because cracks have never been repaired or if it fails at the hands of a terrorist. The towns below the dam will still be devastated."
Schools received the worst grade -- D-minus -- from the engineers, who said three out of four school buildings are inadequate. They estimate it will cost more than $127 billion to build new classrooms and modernize outdated schools.
Energy transmission earned a D-plus, but the engineers said the trend is getting worse. Investment in transmission fell by $115 million annually, to $2 billion a year in 2000 from $5 billion in 1975. Actual capacity increased by only 7,000 megawatts a year, 30 percent less than needed to keep up with power demand.
The report gave roads a D-plus. "The nation is failing to even maintain the substandard conditions we currently have," the report said, adding that the average rush hour grew by more than 18 minutes between 1997 and 2000.
The engineers' report gave bridges a C, noting that 27.5 percent of U.S. bridges were structurally deficient or obsolete in 2000.
Transportation systems earned a C-minus, despite increased spending over the past six years. "Efforts to maintain the systems are outpaced by growth in ridership," the report said.
Dwayne Kalynchuk, president of the American Public Works Association, said investing in the nation's infrastructure needs to be more of a priority.
"We're all certainly aware of issues, of emergencies, and investing in emergencies immediately," Kalynchuk said. "But I think here we have an emergency that is going to catch up to us in the next few years if we don't deal with it today."
The Bush administration in May proposed spending $247 billion on roads, bridges and mass transit, 13 percent more than the previous six-year plan.
Rep. Don Young, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has proposed a $375 billion spending plan, to be paid for by indexing the gasoline tax to inflation. Young, R-Alaska, said in a statement that the report reinforced his serious concerns about the state of the U.S. infrastructure.
"If we don't provide adequate investment in transportation and water infrastructure, we will dearly regret it in the long run," Young said.
The report's other grades included:
--D for aviation. "Little is being done to capitalize on the low growth period after 9/11 to address the nation's aviation infrastructure needs."
--D for drinking water and wastewater. The nation's 54,000 drinking water systems are aging rapidly and some sewer systems are 100 years old, while federal funding remains flat.
--D for dams, with the number of unsafe dams rising to nearly 2,600 and 21 dam failures in the past two years.
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C0ckney
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Big Up The Macedonian Massive
Apr 2000
time: 05:30
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interestingly (or not as the case may be) a similar report was issued a little while ago about the UK by the british equivelent of ASCE. basically saying that our roads and railways are crap, which is a bit like saying that the sky is blue and grass is green these days. although our lot blames a lot of it on local government, as well they might, if my local council is anything to go by.
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Comrade Tassadar
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Uhh, no...Obviously Oerdin is more knowledgable than all of them!
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st_swithin
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10069
Nov 2002
time: 05:30
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All we need now is a vineyard, a white picket fence, and an 'E'...
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lightblue
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L'Boro, UK
Oct 2001
time: 05:30
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Trains aren't economically feasible period in most of the US. They work best in high density areas, which is why they work in Japan, Germany, France or the Netherlands. It doesn't work in the UK, because the system is too old, and as certain companies have regional/line monopolies they can charge what they want for crappy trains that are late and filthy.
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chegitz guevara
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Ft. Lauderdale, FL Communist Party of Apolyton
Jun 2000
time: 00:30
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Actually, here in Florida, voters mandated (in 1998) that the state set up a high-speed rail system by 2006. The Republicans have basically ignored it, though it's part of our Constitution. (What do you do when the government ignores the Constitution and the Courts?) Personally, I don't think this should be part of the Constitution, but it is.
I think it could work in Florida because Florida's main industry is tourism, so people could vacation in one spot for a few days, then zip across to Orlando to see the Mouse, then zip off to Cape Canaveral . . . you get the idea.
I'd like it cuz then I could move outta Jax (maybe to Titusville or Orlando), and have access to jobs throughout the peninsula.
They are scheduled to start settnig up the first part of the line next year, between Tampa and Orlando.
Ned, though the high speed rail companies are private in Japan, AFAIK, they are public in France, and they work fine there. As well, I'm sure the Japanese companies received quite a lot of help from the government. Japan has never been a hands-off economy.
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st_swithin
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10069
Nov 2002
time: 05:30
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Yeah, sure - who needs a vineyard anyway? It's just one giant yeast farm anyway.
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SlowwHand
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of The Cooler
Sep 1999
time: 23:30
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quote:
Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Report blasts American infrastructure
- - - - - - - - - - - -
By LESLIE MILLER
Sept. 4, 2003 |
WASHINGTON (AP) -- America's infrastructure is full of cracks, leaks and holes and is getting worse, according to an analysis by civil engineers that gives the nation's transportation, water and energy systems an overall grade of D-plus.
A report by the American Society of Civil Engineers released Thursday said the condition of 12 categories of infrastructure hasn't improved in the past two years. The report blamed a weak economy, limited federal programs, population growth and the threat of terrorism, which diverted money to security.
"Americans' concerns about security threats are real, but so are the threats posed by crumbling infrastructure," Thomas Jackson, ASCE president, said in a statement. "It doesn't matter if the dam fails because cracks have never been repaired or if it fails at the hands of a terrorist. The towns below the dam will still be devastated."
Schools received the worst grade -- D-minus -- from the engineers, who said three out of four school buildings are inadequate. They estimate it will cost more than $127 billion to build new classrooms and modernize outdated schools.
Energy transmission earned a D-plus, but the engineers said the trend is getting worse. Investment in transmission fell by $115 million annually, to $2 billion a year in 2000 from $5 billion in 1975. Actual capacity increased by only 7,000 megawatts a year, 30 percent less than needed to keep up with power demand.
The report gave roads a D-plus. "The nation is failing to even maintain the substandard conditions we currently have," the report said, adding that the average rush hour grew by more than 18 minutes between 1997 and 2000.
The engineers' report gave bridges a C, noting that 27.5 percent of U.S. bridges were structurally deficient or obsolete in 2000.
Transportation systems earned a C-minus, despite increased spending over the past six years. "Efforts to maintain the systems are outpaced by growth in ridership," the report said.
Dwayne Kalynchuk, president of the American Public Works Association, said investing in the nation's infrastructure needs to be more of a priority.
"We're all certainly aware of issues, of emergencies, and investing in emergencies immediately," Kalynchuk said. "But I think here we have an emergency that is going to catch up to us in the next few years if we don't deal with it today."
The Bush administration in May proposed spending $247 billion on roads, bridges and mass transit, 13 percent more than the previous six-year plan.
Rep. Don Young, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has proposed a $375 billion spending plan, to be paid for by indexing the gasoline tax to inflation. Young, R-Alaska, said in a statement that the report reinforced his serious concerns about the state of the U.S. infrastructure.
"If we don't provide adequate investment in transportation and water infrastructure, we will dearly regret it in the long run," Young said.
The report's other grades included:
--D for aviation. "Little is being done to capitalize on the low growth period after 9/11 to address the nation's aviation infrastructure needs."
--D for drinking water and wastewater. The nation's 54,000 drinking water systems are aging rapidly and some sewer systems are 100 years old, while federal funding remains flat.
--D for dams, with the number of unsafe dams rising to nearly 2,600 and 21 dam failures in the past two years. |
What did Cuba get?
How about China?
North Korea? Hell. North Korea can't even build a single road.
Jackass. 
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st_swithin
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10069
Nov 2002
time: 05:30
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Anything lower than a plain old 'D' is just spiteful, and often personal.
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05-09-2003 02:15
That tells me to take this report with a grain of salt. So the people who's jobs depend on there being more construction feel we should do more construct? Shocking. 
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