As Congress dukes it out over highway funding and proposals are put forward, put down, and then patched up without any actual progress being made, the real-world consequences of neglecting our aging, underfunded infrastructure are starting to rear their ugly heads. It doesn’t look like the nightmare scenarios where huge bridges will give way, killing hundreds and costing billions of dollars and years of work to fix. Instead, it’s the mundane reality that really drives home this issue. This past weekend a small bridge collapsed on I-10 and according to the ATRI, it’s going to cost the trucking industry alone $2.5 million per day.
Built in 1967, the Tex Wash bridge has been listed as “functionally obsolete” since 2013, but due to the lack of funding for road maintenance, bridge repairs haven’t received the attention they need – a familiar state of affairs throughout the country.
The bridge collapsed when the usually drought-stricken area experienced storms which brought on flash floods. The water shifted the dirt that held the foundations in place and brought down a section of the bridge. Traffic was still flowing when it collapsed and a pickup truck went down with it.
The passenger in the vehicle was able to escape with help from bystanders, but the driver was trapped in the vehicle until firefights were able to rescue him more than 2 hours later. According to the Desert Sun, until firefighters arrived, bystanders used straps from their cars to tie the truck to the guardrail in order to keep the truck from being pulled downstream.
Even though $2.5 million per day may seem like a large sum, it’s only a part of the true cost of this debacle. The actual cost of repairing the bridge, maintaining safe detours for motorists, lost revenue for businesses that will be bypassed, and many other considerations will balloon the actual cost far higher than a cool two-and-a-half million per day.
EDIT: Caltrans has announced that it hopes to have the bridge open at some point on Friday.
Next Story: Driving Thirsty: Dehydration as Dangerous as Alcohol?
Source: fleetowner, truckinginfo, fleetowner, desertsun, overdrive, desertsun
Image Source: desertsun
Max says
California…already one of the highest fuel taxes in the nation, yet most of it is never spent on transportation…just on Gov Moonbeams pet rail boondoggle, art projects for government buildings and other ‘essential’ projects.
There are 45 more bridges on I-10 rated LOWER than this one…and El Nino’s coming….be afraid drivers!
Charli says
WHERE is this bridge?
Tim says
Both AZ-CA interstate bridges over the Colorado River are in a worse category: structurally deficient and fracture critical. As Walter White would advise, “tread lightly.”
Tim says
(Well, two out of the three…the I-8 bridge isn’t listed.)
Larry says
What happened to all that money Obama gave to fix the bridges?
Armidao says
So why are we paying not just high fuel tax but also highway use tax IRS form 2290, and we all know if we don’t pay it we cannot renew our DMV tags. So where is all the money going every year. We pay as truckers to use the highways under the heavy highway use tax and it’s a shame we are forced to have to go around the the SR62 or SR111 and cause us more time and fuel and yes we all lose and the CalTrans workers keep getting raises while our freeways and highways suffer.
Les_gvt says
Transportation infrastructure- like education- is not an issue of lack of funding- but rather a severe case of waste. Texas is a prime example- It has taken 3 years to build a $20M+ rest area on I-20. They have also reworked the same stretch of I20 in Parker county for over 6 years. It took almost 5 years to repave (and build sidewalks no one uses) a 1.5 mile stretch of US 287 through Claude. Then of course, every new overpass has to be painted a pretty pastel, have murals and cute designs.
Also, do you really need mile markers every 1/10th of a mile (MO), and I know that the last 4 years that I drove in PA- they repaved the 80/81 interchange 4 years in a row.
You should also see the pretty new DOT offices all across the country too
royce dressel says
Shouldn’t this be a Federal emergency?