50,000 US Bridges Are Crumbling

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50,000 US Bridges Are Crumbling
We hear everyday about our crumbling
infrastructure. Bridges in a state of disrepair
and falling apart and the danger to the public.
The article by Conor Ferfuson from NBC news below
stresses the urgency of change. More than 50,000
bridges across the U.S. are falling apart and
endangering drivers, according to a new
report. NBC News found cases from Florida,
Georgia, Michigan and other states where pieces
of crumbling bridges broke off and fell to the
roadway, sometimes hitting vehicles. In Utah,
driver Mike Peterson escaped serious injury when
a chunk of a bridge smashed through his
windshield as he drove underneath. Another six
to eight inches, you might not be talking to me
today, said Peterson. Using government data,
the American Road Transportation Builders
Association compiled a report showing that 54,259
American bridges are structurally deficient. So
many bridges are in need of repair, says the
report, that if placed end-to-end theyd stretch
nearly from New York City to Miami. And experts
say that at the current rate of repair or
replacement it would take 37 years to fix all the
bridges. Almost every article written about the
infrastructure stresses the importance of
providing more money for the infrastructure and
fixing the nations bridges specifically. I
would like to see more news on the amount of
money currently spent on the infrastructure and
how it is being spent. Is it possible that it
should not just be about throwing more money at
the problem?
I do agree that more money is needed in
transportation infrastructure to build new
bridges, rail lines, enhance communications,
build deeper ports but I also feel that we need
to do more to analyze how current budgets are
being spent. Are funds being utilized properly?
Are the best technologies being utilized in
construction materials and inspection services to
stretch every dollar, manage maintenance and
repairs while being sure that the top priority of
keeping the public safe is always the first
priority. Working for a robotic engineering and
bridge inspection company, I see and hear about
new technology developments everyday. Materials
that can coat the
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highways to prevent deterioration, nano
technology that can repair itself in asphalt so
roads do not crack or deteriorate for a hundred
years. When it comes to inspection services I
can can tell you from experience that the
inspection methods are antiquated, manual in
nature and do not supply sufficient information
in order for the department of transportation to
best budget and schedule for maintenance and
repairs.
Bridge Collapses How do you fix or maintain
something without having the best information
possible and why would you want to? With todays
modern technology and robotics infrastructure
inspections can be less expensive, road closures
held to a minimum and quantitative data provided
to asset owners so they can make the best
budgetary decisions possible. It doesnt matter
how much money the federal government throws at
the infrastructure there is still not enough
money to replace all of our defective
bridges. Drone Inspections See the link to an
article in NDT.org magazine about some of these
new bridge inspection methods.
https//www.ndt.org/news.asp?ObjectID62346
Infrastructure Preservation Corporation is a
nondestructive testing and bridge inspection
company that has developed robotic infrastructure
inspection services to replace 50 year old manual
inspection methods within current maintenance
budgets. To find out more go to
www.infrastructurepc.com.