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September 22, 2008

Efficiency Shock

Justin Katz

Just a reminder that such things are possible (emphasis added):

The old bridge fell Aug. 1, 2007, killing 13 people and injuring 145 others. The sudden collapse of steel and concrete jolted Minnesota and other states into taking a harder look at the safety of thousands of aging bridges across the country.

The state put the $234 million replacement on a fast track, and contractors had it ready for traffic on budget and more than three months ahead of deadline.

Comments

Ah bridge collapse. Coming soon to a highway near you. Very very near. And then the quick transition from figurative political lynchings to actual dragging corrupt politicians from their homes and hanging them in the town squares will begin.

Posted by: Greg at September 22, 2008 7:47 AM

For years now the Democrat General Assembly has been siphoning off gas tax money to divert the proceeds from maintenance to their special interest union and welfare industry constituencies.

Rhode Island's bridges are now ranked as the most structurally deficient in the entire country!

Yet another example symptoms of collapse described in Atlas Shrugged that we are seeing with increasing frequency and magnitude around Rhode Island: despite historically high government budgets roads are potholed and rutted; bridges on the verge of collapse; public education system mired in (at best) mediocrity; increasing crime in the cities; ever growing class of (apparently permanently) dependent / non- or semi-working persons.

Compare too the speed with which MN managed to replace its bridge with, say, Rhode Island's multi-decade inability to replace that tiny little bridge near Barrington / Warren.

With Rhode Island government it is hard to tell where to corruption leaves off and the incompetence begins ...

Posted by: Tom W at September 22, 2008 10:12 AM

minnesota has high taxes,but htey also have free tuition for state residents at state colleges(last I heard)and unlike RI they don't have to pay off the right political parasite and his cousin(s)to get a substandard job done two years late.Anybody recall the Canal Street project in Providence?

Posted by: joe bernstein at September 22, 2008 12:09 PM