Do you distrust some engineering? Like bridges, roads, electronics, buildings, vehicles, planes, trains etc etc?

[tomtoo]

I only misstrust russian tanks. They tend too loose there turrets in a explosive way.

 

[Suffolkhifinut]

I only misstrust russian tanks. They tend too loose there turrets in a explosive way.

In the 1960s was afraid of the Red Menace, until one of my uncles bought a Lada. It wouldn’t go around the corner without breaking down.

 

[pseudoid]

With respect to some BOTCHED infrastructure projects; I was looking for update to that "Bridge to nowhere" news of dozen years ago [Palin/Alaska?].
I got nowhere!
Instead, I ended with few that I was aware of:
Botch Job #1 is Cincinnati Subway, OH:

Botch Job #2 - Bridge-to-Nowhere in GrandLake, OK:

Botch Job #3 - A 'National Monument' that was never even really started in a country I'd rather not say (so as to not irk locals):

Botch Job #4 - The Ryugyong Hotel is a deceptive (and hollow) pyramid-shaped skyscraper in external appearance only...

There must be better examples of mega-botches.

 

[Blumlein 88]

This covers all the basics. Basically portrayed as a $400 million bridge for an island with 50 residents. However it has an airport with over 500 passengers per day which have to use a ferry. In the end a highway was built that goes nowhere, and ferry service was improved.

Gravina Island Bridge - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[mansr]

I distrust any engineering I was involved in.

 

[pseudoid]

I distrust any engineering I was involved in.

What are you? A corporate lawyer or somesuch?

 

[kchap]

I distrust any engineering I was involved in.

The Groucho Marx of Engineering.

 

[Chrispy]

Well if you add in earthquakes you can get this on a bridge:

SF/Oakland Bay Bridge 1989 Prieta Loma quake

And this

Cypress freeway same 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.

Fortunately there was a World Series game at Candlestick at the time, so traffic was lighter than usual in both cases.....

 

[irontortoise]

Sometimes a smaller engineering disaster can prevent a larger one in the future:
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-...le/beltway-8-ship-channel-bridge-16666578.php

 

[mansr]

What are you? A corporate lawyer or somesuch?

Just an engineer who has seen the things the lawyers are afraid of.

 

[pseudoid]

PRO: Matt Casale -Director, Environment Campaigns, PIRG
*"The next few years will be critical toward determining how American neighborhoods and transportation systems will develop over the long term. The federal government will provide $1 trillion in funding for a variety of infrastructure projects, including transportation, thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress in November 2021...."
*"If used wisely, this money could transform our towns and cities, making them safer and helping to build a clean, sustainable future. Improvement and expansion of public transit, walking and biking infrastructure and zero-emission [?] electric vehicles will help reduce pollution and provide more transportation options for everyone. But if funding is wasted on expanding roads and highways, we will only exacerbate the safety, health and environmental crises that come from designing our neighborhoods for cars instead of people..."
CON: Some facts from our local newspaper [remember those?]:
*"Since 1980s, the U.S. has added nearly 870,000 lane-miles of highways - [a pave job] that is the larger [@1,648 sq.miles] than Rhode Island. Yet the traffic (pre-Covid) congestion was worse than the early '80s..."
*Circa 2016 [most current data] federal/state/local governments spent a [whopping] $27.6Billion, expanding the highway system, including new roads, bridges and widening existing roads…. "Sucking money away from road repair, transit, and other local needs."
*Across the country, 173,000miles of road are in "poor" condition, more than a third of bridges need major repairs and 7% are 'structurally deficient."
-----------------------------------
TL&DR for @Doodski >> What I am trying to say is that the future looks… good and bad!
Let the infrastructure crumble away since we need to take care of 'people before cars' anyways!

 

[Doodski]

PRO: Matt Casale -Director, Environment Campaigns, PIRG
*"The next few years will be critical toward determining how American neighborhoods and transportation systems will develop over the long term. The federal government will provide $1 trillion in funding for a variety of infrastructure projects, including transportation, thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress in November 2021...."
*"If used wisely, this money could transform our towns and cities, making them safer and helping to build a clean, sustainable future. Improvement and expansion of public transit, walking and biking infrastructure and zero-emission [?] electric vehicles will help reduce pollution and provide more transportation options for everyone. But if funding is wasted on expanding roads and highways, we will only exacerbate the safety, health and environmental crises that come from designing our neighborhoods for cars instead of people..."
CON: Some facts from our local newspaper [remember those?]:
*"Since 1980s, the U.S. has added nearly 870,000 lane-miles of highways - [a pave job] that is the larger [@1,648 sq.miles] than Rhode Island. Yet the traffic (pre-Covid) congestion was worse than the early '80s..."
*Circa 2016 [most current data] federal/state/local governments spent a [whopping] $27.6Billion, expanding the highway system, including new roads, bridges and widening existing roads…. "Sucking money away from road repair, transit, and other local needs."
*Across the country, 173,000miles of road are in "poor" condition, more than a third of bridges need major repairs and 7% are 'structurally deficient."
-----------------------------------
TL&DR for @Doodski >> What I am trying to say is that the future looks… good and bad!
Let the infrastructure crumble away since we need to take care of 'people before cars' anyways!

Very difficult to read your black on black text. But I read as much as I could decipher.
Yes, we have roads issues here too and apparently Quebec is in very rough shape. Where I am old bridges are presently being replaced. It's a pain in the butt shutting down a bridge for a year but it is required.

 

[BinkieHuckerback]

Has anyone got pictures of all the bridges that are fine?

 

[Mart68]

Very difficult to read your black on black text. But I read as much as I could decipher.
Yes, we have roads issues here too and apparently Quebec is in very rough shape. Where I am old bridges are presently being replaced. It's a pain in the butt shutting down a bridge for a year but it is required.

Build the new bridge right next to the old one, whilst it stays in use. That's what they do here, although it takes a lot longer than a year to build the new one due to the 'One man working and two men standing about watching him work' method that they employ.

 

[Doodski]

Build the new bridge right next to the old one

Yes, we are one Pissed oFF group of residents here. The bridge is a 2-way and there's only room enough for one bridge not another beside the old one. We are not cut off from downtown but the bus riders have to walk ~4x the distance to catch a bus to go shopping, for medical and other stuff. Come winter at -30C or worse it's going to be hard on them for sure.

 

[Plcamp]

To ask if you distrust (some) engineering cannot be any comment on engineering, but instead on the degree to which the discipline controls it’s practices on real projects.

The actually engineers have (fir whatever reason) minority control of that in some cases, and there’s where the distrust should be focussed?

 

[Matthias McCready]

Yes, we are one Pissed oFF group of residents here. The bridge is a 2-way and there's only room enough for one bridge not another beside the old one. We are not cut off from downtown but the bus riders have to walk ~4x the distance to catch a bus to go shopping, for medical and other stuff. Come winter at -30C or worse it's going to be hard on them for sure.

It could, as always, be worse....

I have family that lives in Honduras, and it took the government until 2009 to build a replacement bridge for a fairly major two-lane one that gotten taken out during hurricane Mitch (1998). The work was REAL slow! There are still rural bridges that are out, or are using temporary structures from that hurricane!

 

[Mart68]

Yes, we are one Pissed oFF group of residents here. The bridge is a 2-way and there's only room enough for one bridge not another beside the old one. We are not cut off from downtown but the bus riders have to walk ~4x the distance to catch a bus to go shopping, for medical and other stuff. Come winter at -30C or worse it's going to be hard on them for sure.

If it was minus 30C here the buses wouldn't be running and all public services and facilities would be shut . In fact nowadays that happens if we just have an inch of snow.

 

[Doodski]

It could, as always, be worse....

I have family that lives in Honduras, and it took the government until 2009 to build a replacement bridge for a fairly major two-lane one that gotten taken out during hurricane Mitch (1998). The work was REAL slow! There are still rural bridges that are out, or are using temporary structures from that hurricane!

Where's the money going? If not for a bridge? No bridge = no transportation and commuting = sh**** economy.

 

[Doodski]

If it was minus 30C here the buses wouldn't be running and all public services and facilities would be shut . In fact nowadays that happens if we just have an inch of snow.

We carry on as if nothing is happening. Pull out the parka and woolies and get to it!