Asheville Citizen-Times
Amid the hubbub of the upcoming Democratic and Republican conventions, actual issues that affect actual Americans may actually get a chance to get aired.
That’s particularly true regarding the Republican National Convention, slated for Sept. 1-4 in Minneapolis ó the location of the I-35W bridge. A little more than a year ago the eight-lane bridge abruptly collapsed, killing 13 people and injuring about 100. The scene of the tragedy, so close to a major event, will undoubtedly put at least some focus on the nation’s infrastructure woes.
Closer to home, we most definitely have concerns of our own. A review of the state’s 20 most-traveled structurally deficient bridges, conducted by The Associated Press, showed only two had been “completely repaired” since the I-35W tragedy.
The blame lies partly with politicians and partly with ourselves. The idea of a billion-dollar road bond was toyed with but put off as risky by leaders of the Democratic-controlled General Assembly because of the weak economy ó and because of grass-roots opposition to new spending.
The last full report card on the state’s infrastructure, conducted by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 2005, had North Carolina checking in with grades paralleling the national average.
Problem is, the national average isn’t very good. North Carolina’s roads were given a “D,” while 18,000 highway bridges across the state were “considered structurally deficient or functionally obsolete,” with an estimated $8 billion tab to repair or replace those structures.
The tab for the 2,400 “structurally deficient” bridges alone is $5 billion.
Barry Jenkins, co-chair of NC GO!, which speaks for road-building trade groups and local governments, told The Associated Press, “The big challenge next year is can they come up with more transportation money. We cannot keep deferring investing in transportation.”
That’s especially true given the rapid population growth North Carolina is experiencing. Infrastructure needs are going to have to be addressed soon.
The I-35W collapse is an extreme example of what can happen if they’re not. But it’s also a sobering reminder that such tragedies don’t just exist in the realm of fiction.