In Gridlock, the Antiplanner argued that the so-called infrastructure crisis is phony, and used bridges as an example. The Minneapolis bridge collapse raised attention about infrastructure, but it turned out that disaster was due to a design flaw, not lack of maintenance. While some bridges are in poor condition, records reveal that the number of bridges that are “structurally deficient” has been steadily declining since 1992 (the earliest year for which on-line data are available).
Filling potholes on a Virginia highway (VDOT photo).
On the Antiplanner’s recent 1,500 mile road trip to Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas, however, the often rough interstate highways made me wonder if pavement is a different story. Could it be that bridges are in good shape but pavement is declining? Maybe there is some truth to claims of an infrastructure crisis.
