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Judi Lynn

(160,450 posts)
Sat Jun 14, 2014, 04:36 AM Jun 2014

Foxx: Delaware bridge a national problem

Source: Associated Press

Foxx: Delaware bridge a national problem
By RANDALL CHASE, Associated Press | June 13, 2014 | Updated: June 13, 2014 5:48pm

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The closure of a major bridge in Delaware due to tilting support columns is not just a state problem, but a national issue, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who used a visit to the site Friday to push Congress to replenish diminishing federal highway funds.

The Interstate 495 bridge over the Christina River in Wilmington was closed June 2. Traffic is being shunted onto already-congested I-95 through downtown Wilmington as crews begin a $20 million repair project that officials hope will have the bridge at least partially reopened by Labor Day.

"This isn't just a Delaware issue, it's a national issue," said Foxx, who stopped at the bridge site during a previously arranged trip to Wilmington for a Friday evening speech. "When this bridge goes down, the ability of folks to travel all the way south into Miami, all the way up the Eastern Seaboard, is impacted. So it is a big deal that we get this bridge back up and going."

Federal taxpayers will pick up 90 percent of the cost of permanent repairs to the interstate bridge. The state already has been approved for $2 million in federal emergency funding.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/US-transportation-chief-visits-Delaware-bridge-5549505.php

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Historic NY

(37,449 posts)
1. Were experiencing it here locally...
Sat Jun 14, 2014, 07:15 AM
Jun 2014

one major one was shut down last week it literally was dipping in the middle. We have one still closed due to major damage from Irene and 3 more with scattered work days being repaired. The major Hudson River bridge crossing here is also being repaired, it is had major delays due to the decking and pavement problem.

 

Trust Buster

(7,299 posts)
2. We ascended in the world as an economic power because of our superior infrastructure.
Sat Jun 14, 2014, 08:00 AM
Jun 2014

The current state of our infrastructure defies all logic. If a Republican was informed by his doctor that he has an obstructed vein, do you think he would ignore that ? Well, that's what they've been deciding with regards to our infrastructure. Infrastructure represents the veins that enables are economic blood to flow. Unbelievably foolish.

riversedge

(70,084 posts)
3. Well said. But that Republican would
Sat Jun 14, 2014, 08:18 AM
Jun 2014

get his body fixed while those in the Red States who have denied expanded Medicare would go without care.

 

Trust Buster

(7,299 posts)
4. You are correct. Turns out that many Red states sit along the Mississippi River and....
Sat Jun 14, 2014, 08:34 AM
Jun 2014

.....along the Gulf Coast. So was it surprising that the "limited government", "anti-free stuff" Republican Party would recently vote in favor of continuing the highly taxpayer subsidized Federal Flood Insurance Program ? In that case they think it's a darn good idea for the taxpayer to pay for the perpetual rebuilding of homes in Red State flood plains. They are frauds.

 

PeoViejo

(2,178 posts)
6. So, who can afford living on Waterfront Property?
Sat Jun 14, 2014, 12:00 PM
Jun 2014

Not poor people of Color. People with Money is more like it, and they are likely to be Republican.

LynneSin

(95,337 posts)
5. It's a nightmare here too!!!
Sat Jun 14, 2014, 10:00 AM
Jun 2014

I made the mistake of taking 95 home from work the day after they shut down the bridge.

Normally I can take one of the roads like Route #4 or Route #2 home but that's redlights.

My 20 minute trip was over an hour home - ugh! And this wasn't even 5pm traffic (around 6).

495 is a nice bypass but I rarely take it. It goes right by Cherry Island where they have the Cherry Island landfill and the waste burner. On a typical day you'll get a real whiff of ewwwwwwww. It's not pleasant!

 

fbc

(1,668 posts)
7. Why doesn't Delaware start collecting taxes or use some of that toll money?
Sat Jun 14, 2014, 04:23 PM
Jun 2014

What a jerk state: A continental tax haven that makes money by charging tolls on I-95 and setting up speed traps to milk people from out of state.

But I agree: Delaware is a national problem.

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