American Infrastructure

[sgt_zim]

This is the I-40 bridge in Memphis. We have a lot of bridges that were built in the early 20th century. They all need maintenance.

 

[Boyd Brooks]

This is the I-40 bridge in Memphis. We have a lot of bridges that were built in the early 20th century. They all need maintenance.

View attachment 401692

A good coat of paint, and as good as new!

 

[Randy F]

A good coat of paint, and as good as new!

Maybe slap a little JB Weld on it first though.

 

[chashardy]

That steel beam cracked near the riveted joint is going to fail. The bridge should be closed. This is why we need the infrastructure bill.

 

[mdwest]

This is the I-40 bridge in Memphis. We have a lot of bridges that were built in the early 20th century. They all need maintenance.

View attachment 401692

The Hernando DeSoto (I40 Memphis) bridge is a lot newer than that...

It first opened for traffic in 1974...

I will be traveling to Memphis this weekend and am none too pleased about the 2-3 hour back up that’s occurring at the I55 bridge now that the I40 traffic is consolidated onto it...

 

[mdwest]

That steel beam cracked near the riveted joint is going to fail. The bridge should be closed. This is why we need the infrastructure bill.

It is closed.. indefinitely...

Traffic is being diverted to the old I55 bridge a few miles away...

The issue is the 40 bridge is 6 lanes and designed for considerable traffic.. the 55 bridge is a lot older, 4 lanes (narrower) and not designed for the volume of traffic it’s now getting...

Last report was traffic is backed up 2-3 hours pretty much around the clock..

The other option if you’re headed to/through Memphis is to divert 90 minutes south to Helena Arkansas.. there is a bridge there also (you still add 3 hours to your trip.. but don’t have to sit still in traffic for 3 hours)...

 

[Ike85123]

The Hernando DeSoto (I40 Memphis) bridge is a lot newer than that...

It first opened for traffic in 1974...

I will be traveling to Memphis this weekend and am none too pleased about the 2-3 hour back up that’s occurring at the I55 bridge now that the I40 traffic is consolidated onto it...

Just learn how to swim before you go !
Also those bumpy rocks are called alligators, so learn how to swim really fast ! Haha

 

[sgt_zim]

That steel beam cracked near the riveted joint is going to fail. The bridge should be closed. This is why we need the infrastructure bill.

The infrastructure bill won't solve this. It's just another bill loaded with pork for political cronies.

 

[Randy F]

Sounds like a good place to start up your new ferry business.

 

[sgt_zim]

The Hernando DeSoto (I40 Memphis) bridge is a lot newer than that...

It first opened for traffic in 1974...

I will be traveling to Memphis this weekend and am none too pleased about the 2-3 hour back up that’s occurring at the I55 bridge now that the I40 traffic is consolidated onto it...

I knew that, just stated badly that there are many which are older, and in similar or worse condition. We've only had an interstate system since the 50s, so no way that bridge is older than about 60 or 65 years, even if I didn't know it was opened in the early 70s

 

[Ike85123]

Im still suprised it wasnt named after Elvis. Lol

 

[sgt_zim]

The Hernando DeSoto (I40 Memphis) bridge is a lot newer than that...

It first opened for traffic in 1974...

I will be traveling to Memphis this weekend and am none too pleased about the 2-3 hour back up that’s occurring at the I55 bridge now that the I40 traffic is consolidated onto it...

Imagine this happening at Vicksburg and/or Baton Rouge. There is a new bridge north of Baton Rouge, crosses from New Roads, LA to St Francsiville, LA and is served by LA 1 on the west side of the river, and US Hwy 61 on the east side (my family hunting spot is very near there). Neither of those can even come close to the volume moving on I-10 through Baton Rouge. While Hwy 61 is a 4 lane hwy from the bridge to Baton Rouge, LA 1 is not, and you either have to snake down it back to I-10 or end up going through Alexandria, LA and taking 190 across to Texas.

A loss of the GNO bridge in NOLA wouldn't actually be a huge deal. It's faster to take I-12 across the Florida Parishes than I-10 through NOLA, and it isn't even close.

 

[Tra3]

Hmm, looks cosmetic to me.

Ok, on a serious note, I was a mile away from the 35w bridge collapse in minneapolis. I regularly run/ran under that bridge. Seeing the wreckage after the collapse was chilling. The dust cloud from the right after the collapse was quite visible from my office. The mobilization of emergency vehicles had the whole downtown shrieking with sirens. This is nothing to be trifled with.

 

[VertigoBE]

This happened in 2018 in Italy. Infrastructure should never be a spend once and forget about it proposition:

43 people died that day.

 

[Opposite Pole]

This happened in 2018 in Italy. Infrastructure should never be a spend once and forget about it proposition:

View attachment 401949

43 people died that day.

My wife and I drove over that bridge few months earlier, we noticed it looked like it was in a need of maintenance and it made us fell a bit uneasy driving over it. Actually, quite a lot of Italian road infrastructure does.

 

[Opposite Pole]

My wife and I drove over that bridge few months earlier, we noticed it looked like it was in a need of maintenance and it made us fell a bit uneasy driving over it. Actually, quite a lot of Italian road infrastructure does.

I should add that the cause of the disaster was determined to have been due to issues that weren't visible to the naked eye and from the road, but it did leave an impression of being poorly maintained.