mikemike -> RE: OT:Not to (8/3/2007 8:55:45 PM)
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Don Phillips (Transportation journalist, wrote for the Washington Post and the International Herald Tribune, has a regular column in "Trains" magazine) mentioned several times in his column that the whole Interstate system was designed for a life of 25-30 years and when you remember that most of it was built in the 1960s .. 'nuff said. I've read somewhere that the American Society of Civil Engineers reckons there are 70000 bridges that need repairs or overhauls and that it would cost about 1000 billion (10^12) dollars to get the Interstate system back to specs. "Deferred maintenance" on the infrastructure has always been a popular way of saving money. I guess all those glorious tax cuts of past years will come back to haunt the U.S. taxpayers real soon now. BTW, in 1995 I spent three weeks in St. Pete on holidays. You could see the Sunshine Skyway from my apartment. A glorious sight! We drove several times across it, on the way to Sarasota, and one time we stopped at the bridge for a pit stop and a closer look. I'm glad whoever was responsible for having the bridge built went for such an impressive design. I've always thought those cable-stayed girder bridges are aesthetically the most elegant bridge designs. quote:
ORIGINAL: pbear Public Works Project build by the lowest bidder. This reminds me of what an Apollo astronaut is said to have answered when someone asked him how it felt to sit in the capsule just before liftoff - "How would you feel sitting on top of a million parts, every single one of which was the lowest bid?"
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