Talking Traffic

Today is the one year anniversary of the I-35W bridge collapse in Minnesota. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out the wikipedia article. Most of the relevant info is there.

The Interstate bridge collapsed during evening rush hour on August 1, 2007. Thirteen people died and approximately 100 were injured. The reason for the catastrophic failure of the bridge has not been determined precisely, but early findings by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) pointed at an original design flaw in the Gusset Plates (details here).

This tragedy has underscored a problem that the U.S. is facing: aging infrastructure requires maintenance or replacement. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Infrastructure Report Card, the price of maintaining and upgrading the United States public infrastructure (roads, bridges, airports, utlilities, harbors, buildings and everything else) at an adequate level is approximately $1.7 trillion over five years (that’s $340 billion annually). Without a continued investment you run into issues such as degrading roadways, leaking sewage systems, inadequate water supplies, congested airports, etc. It is a fact that this nation continues to grow and the infrastructure representing its nerves and veins must grow with it. Look at Singapore and Manila. Those two cities are so overwhelmed by traffic congestion (to take only one example from transportation) that almost all deliveries from the ports occur at night; the trucks simply cannot move during the day. I’d hate to see that happen to Baltimore, or Savannah, or Long Beach.

$340 billion is a very big number, but let’s remember that Congress fell all over itself to send $200 million to Minnesota to replace the I-35W bridge. If they can snap-count a number that big, I think it’s reasonable to find some additional funding on an annual basis to assist the states in replacing and maintaining the existing infrastructure. 27% of the nation’s bridges are currently rated as strucutrally deficient as of 2005 (which does not mean in imminent danger of collapse, so don’t worry too much) which is an improvement from several years previously, but is too high. Unfortunately, the only way to improve that number is through funding because bridges need constant maintenance and eventual replacement to keep up with the growing traffic demand.

Do I have a proposed solution? I do not. I am not a finance geek or a politician. I, along with many others in my field, see a looming problem which if unaddressed will only lead to bigger problems in the future.

So, remember the I-35W collapse. While it apparently wasn’t directly caused by insufficient funding for maintenance, it is a bellwhether for problems to come.

Member of the Surface Transportation Revenue and Study Commission Speaks Out: Paul Weyrich, a member of the Surface Transportation Revenue and Study Commission, objects to the media coverage of the commission’s recent report (see Traffic Tidbits of 22 Jan 08). He feels that too much emphasis on just one alternative, the fuel tax rise, is drowning out the other good work the commission has completed. I’ll be honest here. I haven’t read the report yet. I was depending on media feeds. I’m going to read it today, though.

I-35 W Bridge Collapse: The fact that the preliminary findings of the NTSB are pointing at design flaws rather than maintenance failure for the I-35W Bridge collapse in 2007 is causing ruffled political feathers.

Ship Obsolescence: The United States maintains a strategic reserve of transport ships in case national emergencies call for bulk carriers. Some of these ships are old, and some are older. When they outlive their operational usefulness, they are broken up for recycling. The gov’t is making some good money in the business right now.

I-95 Going All Data, All the Time: Interstate 95 is one of the nation’s most congested corridors, being hugely important for moving people and goods north and south along the east coast. A new intiative, to provide realtime data to travelers, is under way. Having experienced I-95 in the northeast during some seriously congested times, I would appreciate better information with which to make decisions, for my own use.