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Infra-de-structure

 

Why does it always take a disaster for things to change? Well, maybe not change, but for people to wake up and take notice.

We are referring to the calamity in Minnesota that occurred just as rush hour hit its midpoint Aug. 1. The bridge that brought Interstate 35W to and from downtown Minneapolis over the Mississippi River came apart at the seams, literally. The steel trusses gave way, plunging the center section into the river. The sections closest to the riverbanks bent at 45-degree angles hanging on to the steel tendons of rebar that run through the cement.

The cars, pickups, tractor-trailers and a school bus were still scattered in various positions ­ upright, upside down, sideways ­ across the span 10 days after the disaster. One of our editors was visiting family in the city and described the scene as surreal ­ “sort of like a set for some action movie.” For identification, large number-letter configurations were spray-painted on the windshields and sides of the vehicles that did not fall into the river. They will not be moved until recovery operations are complete.

Nine bodies have been found; another four people were still missing as this newspaper went to press.

On a nearby pedestrian bridge, American flags strung to poles by onlookers, fluttered in the breeze. Hundreds of people walked by, talking quietly. In disbelief.

Did they worry about the durability of the bridge they stood on as they looked down at the collapsed bridge?

 

Hours following the collapse, that large ligament-popping sound heard ‘round the nation was the knee-jerk reaction of politicians in state capitols assuring the populace their bridges were safe to travel across and if the state had bridges similar in structure to the I35W bridge, then immediate and thorough exams would be undertaken.

The Tappan Zee Bridge is a cantilever bridge; it’s not like the steel truss bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis. It is much older though, having opened to traffic in December 1955. Back then, some 18,000 vehicles crossed it daily. Today, the number can hit 165,000. It was built to last 50 years. Do the math.

While collapse is not feared of the Tappan Zee, the waste of time in determining whether it should be upgraded or replaced and what should be done to address the maladies of the heavily traveled Interstate 287 corridor are the bigger issues.

Talk of what to do with the bridge and the corridor began in 2000. Imagine a corporation or even a small business still discussing a problem seven years after it was brought up? There would have been a management shakeup long ago.

This newspaper covered the “discussions” seven years ago. That story could be published today, with minor edits.

With each passing year, the cost of doing anything at the river crossing goes up by millions of dollars.

The joke goes: Getting things done around here is like giving birth to an elephant; it takes two years and a lot of grunting and groaning.

We’re still groaning.

Where does the buck stop?

Is there no accountability at all?

Do you expect criminal charges to be brought after the investigation of the Minneapolis bridge collapse is complete?

Government and politicians are certainly not doing anything to move things along for changes to the Tappan Zee and I-287.

Candidates don’t usually look to run on an “infrastructure” platform. There’s nothing sexy about patching up bridges. But falling bridges, steam pipe explosions and water main collapses will leave you breathless. And they all expose America’s soft underbelly.

Privatization is probably not the answer; look what happened when Stewart International Airport was taken over by a British concern.

“For decades our nation has closed its eyes to reams of engineering analysis and reports that have highlighted the deteriorating nature of our infrastructure and the costs of remediation ­ costs that increase exponentially as every year passes,” said Barry B. LePatner, author of the forthcoming book “Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets: How to Fix America’s Trillion-Dollar Construction Industry.”

“Every politician has received these reports. Most push them aside for a successor to handle, or are willing to provide only a fraction of the necessary funds requested by their experts.”

But we the people aren’t to go blameless. Americans complain about the state of our roads and bridges in one breath and then vote down bonding acts to remediate the problems. In 2000, voters in New York state defeated the $3.8 billion Transportation Bond Act.

Fix it, but not on our nickel.

The Tappan Zee is a vital link to commerce. Why aren’t more businesses up in arms about the worsening conditions along the I-287 corridor? Deliveries and pickups are slowed. The quality of life of their employees who commute is deteriorating and that in turn affects work performance.

What will it take to spur action?

Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation said it would set aside $350 million for New York City to implement the congestion-reduction plan pitched by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The one hitch is that he has to get lawmakers to approve his plan that would charge drivers of cars and trucks a specific toll to go south of 86th Street.

Lightening the load of cars on New York City streets will only shift the burden to mass transit. And if a referendum is needed for another transportation bond act, will the voters agree?

As for as the Tappan Zee and I-287 quagmire, perhaps Gov. Eliot Spitzer should step in and say enough of the committees and subcommittees and light-rail vs. bus rapid transit; here’s the plan, love it or leave it.

 

 

 

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