Bridge collapse in MSP

The missing total has gone way down, from 30 to 8-10.
I don't have a link yet, heard this on the radio on the way home.

One is too many, but it sounds like this one won't be anywhere near as bad as it could have been.

 

Probably not even the worst bridge-collapse this year.

 

I should correct myself. It was not a heating system, it was a computerized anti-icing system that sprayed chemicals during bad weather. It was installed in 2001.

 

I had him for a newswriting class when I was in college. Great guy and a hell of writer.

 

Repairs should have been made before this happened...

startribune.com/10204/story/1339411.html

 

http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2007/08/02/dodd_introduced_infrastructure_bill_hours_before_bridge_fell/

Chris Dodd and Chuch Hagel working on a transportation bill hours before the Minneapolis disaster. Sounds like a good idea, but the price tag to fix-replace briges and miles of Interstate Highway I think will be much more than anticipated. Many of the Interstate Highways are 40-50 years old.

 

Who was the anti-sprawl Minnesota congressman who suggested a few years back that Twin Cities suburbs should kick in money for Minneapolis' roads, etc., because commuters used the roads for work purposes in Minneapolis proper, but didn't contribute to maintainence because they lived outside of city limits.

Has he had anything to say?

 

For me, I just found out today that a guy I used to work with is one in serious condition after he hit the water and the girlfriend of a good friend of mine made it out with a few bruised ribs.

This shit is just too crazy to comprehend for me, even a day later.

What is beginning to irritate me is these stumping politicians (primarily the ones in washington) acting like they are actually going to try and do something about the shitty infrastructure in this country. While I've never been a big fan of Minnesota's current administration (or the last 5 to be exact), I think MnDOT and transportation agencies are going to get whatever they want over the next few years.

 

I don't remember the proposal, but that sounds like Tim Penny.

 

Regarding infrastructure, which should be its own thread, it bothers me when taxpayers whine about big infrastructure projects. The fact is that every so many years schools must be built, roads must be built, bridges must be built, rail lines must be built, sewer systems must be upgraded. It's just a fact of life. People sometimes forget that they're not the first taxpayers to foot the bill for something. All of the public infrastructure was paid for by someone. In most cases, we have the Chinese to thank.

 

There's a debate?