US Concrete Inc. (fka RMIXQ)

[makesumgravy]

All we have to do is look no farther than our roads to know just how much our infrastructure is crumbling, especially here in my State. We had our highest bridge outside of downtown sink on one side a few years ago. Last year it was the bridge that collapsed in Minnesota. Our roads and bridges are old, and in my state the patch work in the summer leads to alot more patch work every winter that follows. Instead of redoing the sections of roads or new roads with concrete a ready mix of tar has been the solution. It doesn't work, it sinks, and when the ice and snow falls then truck plows catch a lip or weak spot that rips up the roads creating pot holes that we can bury a wheel in. Its the same for every state that has snow, ice, water, and salt problems in the Midwest.

This was then. Not much better here since this report. Much worse as the problems expand to every part of our city and towns, and interstate roads.

MSNBC staff and news service reports
updated 10:23 a.m. CT, Wed., March. 9, 2005

WASHINGTON - Crowded schools, traffic-choked roads and transit cutbacks are eroding the quality of American life, according to an analysis by civil engineers that gave the nation’s infrastructure an overall grade of D.

A report by the American Society of Civil Engineers released Wednesday assessed the four-year trend in the condition of 12 categories of infrastructure.

The overall grade slipped from the D+ given in 2001 and 2003. Overall conditions remained the same for bridges, dams and solid waste, the group said, and worsened in roads, drinking water, transit, wastewater, hazard waste, navigable waterways and energy.

"The condition of our nation’s roads, bridges, drinking water systems and other public works have shown little to no improvement since they were graded an overall D+ in 2001, with some areas sliding toward failing grades," the society said.

'Patch and pray' criticized
“Americans are spending more time stuck in traffic and less time at home with their families,” William Henry, the group’s president, said in a statement. “We need to establish a comprehensive, long-term infrastructure plan as opposed to our current ‘patch and pray’ method to ensure a better quality of life for everyone.”

The report said $1.6 trillion should be spent over the next five years to alleviate potential problems with the nation’s infrastructure.

Transportation alone requires $94 billion in annual spending, the report said, yet gets only $59 billion.

The House is to begin debate Wednesday on a six-year, $284 billion highway and mass transit bill, which stalled last year in a money dispute between the White House and Congress.