Wednesday, February 13, 2013

President Obama Proposes a “Fix-It-First” Program For Roads

Another important policy prescription from last nights State of The Union:

"So, tonight, I propose a "Fix-It-First" program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country."

We've got crumbling, high impact infrastructure all over this city.  And vital repairs that in some cases are just summarily shelved (BQE cantilever) or given the "quick fix" (Gowanus Expressway, and neither quick nor a long term fix). 

Tell me, what's going to happen when a  500 pound chunk of concrete spalls off the BQE cantilever and kills somebody because we've deferred action for too long?  Aside from the human tragedy, we'll be looking at a catastrophic logistical disaster as a major east coast freight corridor slams shut. 

This is a step in the right direction but we need more. 

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