REPORT: WISCONSIN BRIDGES CRUMBLING
Friday, September 23rd, 2011 -- 12:18 PM
From WRN:As President Obama makes the push to spend billions of dollars rebuilding the nation?s infrastructure, a new report suggests Wisconsin could use the attention. Kyle Bailey of WISPIRG says a review done by the public policy group found one out of every 12 bridges in the state is in need of some type of repair.
Federal standards were used to evaluate bridges, finding about 1,142 statewide are rated as ?structurally deficient.?
Bailey says over 3,300 bridges were also found to be more than 50 years old. He says the average lifespan of a bridge is usually about half a century, so many of those are likely in need of upgrades, replacement, or other repairs.
Bailey says delaying repair projects only makes them more expensive down the line. He also notes that they usually create more jobs than highway expansion projects and bridge repairs would be a wiser use of taxpayer dollars.
Infrastructure improvements are just one part of a $447 billion jobs bill President Obama has been pushing Congress to act on.
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