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China's going to have a hell of a time maintaining all this infrastructure they're building in a few decades. Maintaining things currently in use is a lot harde

China's going to have a hell of a time maintaining all this infrastructure they're building in a few decades. Maintaining things currently in use is a lot harder than building new, just ask the US.

cft 8y ago
Swiss maintain their road and tunnel infrastructure just fine. They have more tunnel miles per capita than the US. A lot depends on the fraction of value non-producing population that the value producing population has to appease.
- erikpukinskis 8y ago
  What do Swiss tunnels have to do with Chinese bridges? And are you talking about unemployed people? How is that connected?
- forapurpose 8y ago
  > A lot depends on the fraction of value non-producing population that the value producing population has to appease. What does that mean in practice? Something to do with taxes and income distribution? Also, where could I find research supporting it?
  - Arnt 8y ago
    One branch of government pays for building roads, another pays for their maintenance.
- reaperducer 8y ago
  It's not about "tunnels." It's about infrastructure as a whole. The OP's statement is insightful. Narrowing its scope to prove a tangential point is not.
- michaelcampbell 8y ago
  How much underwater?
- xenadu02 8y ago
  > A lot depends on the fraction of value non-producing population that the value producing population has to appease True, the idle rich have demanded appeasement in the form of lower taxes at the expense of many things - including infrastructure maintenance. A point well-made!
  - massaman_yams 8y ago
    Rent extraction, rent extraction everywhere!
grecy 8y ago
I don't have stats to back it up, but it seems the US is the only developed country that is neglecting their infrastructure. Don't generalize the problem to include the whole world when it only affects one country.
- kaybe 8y ago
  Oh don't worry, Europe is doing it too.
  - newnewpdro 8y ago
    Indeed, wasn't there recently a bridge collapse in Italy due to neglect?
- reaperducer 8y ago
  Travel more, and you'll see it happens in almost every nation.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - grecy 8y ago
    this is me theroadchoseme.com
- kryptiskt 8y ago
  The railways in southern Sweden are an unreliable joke due to decades of neglect.
  - chhib 8y ago
    Fun fact: I've heard from a friend working in trains that the Norwegians are envious of how efficient we Swedes are in regards to trains. To them, we have struck the perfect balance of maintaining an OK railway in relation to the very few krona we spend. I agree with you, it is a joke.
- 8y ago
aclsid 8y ago
The thing is that building in China is way cheaper than in the US, so for them it makes sense to just keep demolishing stuff and build new stuff. I saw it happening several times all over China. In Shanghai for instance, they are building a new Maglev station next to the old one, so there is no upgrading old stuff there.
toomanybeersies 8y ago
In my experience from travelling through third world countries, they tend to build impressive projects, and then never maintain them and they fall apart. I guess getting money for maintenance is politically harder, and saying "hey, we have this well maintained infrastructure" is much less impressive than "hey, we built this impressive new piece of infrastructure". Vietnam seems particularly bad for it. They have some very nice new roads, but after a few years they're filled with potholes and an absolute pain to drive/ride through. It doesn't help that they aren't actually that well built either. They look nice when new, but there's actually very little under the tarmac, so when monsoon season comes through the roads just wash out.
- latchkey 8y ago
  Vietnam is a special kind of stupid (maybe not the right word, but best I can do). The whole country is filled with partially finished and failed projects (not just the roads), right next to brand new construction. I actually consider all of this part of the charm of living here. Makes for excellent urban exploration! Becamex IDC is a company founded in 1976 to build a whole city north of Saigon in Binh Duong. There is nice wide and well-paved roads, sidewalks, schools, multiple golf courses, churches, car dealerships, hospitals, power plants... it is literally sim city in real life. The only twist is that it is still nearly empty. The only people out there are factory workers. The factories even import managers from Korea and Japan, who spend their days playing at the golf courses. The locals either live in factory housing or in really inexpensive places. There is whole communities of housing built up where only a few people live. It is kind of amazing really... the whole country is full of half finished places like this. https://i.imgur.com/GIPMBmT.png https://i.imgur.com/GIPMBmT.png https://i.imgur.com/LRVIX7h.png https://i.imgur.com/LRVIX7h.png My guess is that when the sea levels rise and Saigon is under water, Binh Duong will be hot property... in 100 years.
est 8y ago
> Maintaining things currently in use is a lot harder Not so hard if the govn't simply crackdown Unions and worker protests. And tolls for every new road.

China's going to have a hell of a time maintaining all this infrastructure they're building in a few decades. Maintaining things currently in use is a lot harder than building new, just ask the US.

cft 8y ago

Swiss maintain their road and tunnel infrastructure just fine. They have more tunnel miles per capita than the US. A lot depends on the fraction of value non-producing population that the value producing population has to appease.

erikpukinskis 8y ago
What do Swiss tunnels have to do with Chinese bridges? And are you talking about unemployed people? How is that connected?
forapurpose 8y ago
> A lot depends on the fraction of value non-producing population that the value producing population has to appease. What does that mean in practice? Something to do with taxes and income distribution? Also, where could I find research supporting it?
- Arnt 8y ago
  One branch of government pays for building roads, another pays for their maintenance.
reaperducer 8y ago
It's not about "tunnels." It's about infrastructure as a whole. The OP's statement is insightful. Narrowing its scope to prove a tangential point is not.
michaelcampbell 8y ago
How much underwater?
xenadu02 8y ago
> A lot depends on the fraction of value non-producing population that the value producing population has to appease True, the idle rich have demanded appeasement in the form of lower taxes at the expense of many things - including infrastructure maintenance. A point well-made!
- massaman_yams 8y ago
  Rent extraction, rent extraction everywhere!

grecy 8y ago

I don't have stats to back it up, but it seems the US is the only developed country that is neglecting their infrastructure. Don't generalize the problem to include the whole world when it only affects one country.

kaybe 8y ago
Oh don't worry, Europe is doing it too.
- newnewpdro 8y ago
  Indeed, wasn't there recently a bridge collapse in Italy due to neglect?
reaperducer 8y ago
Travel more, and you'll see it happens in almost every nation.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- grecy 8y ago
  this is me theroadchoseme.com
kryptiskt 8y ago
The railways in southern Sweden are an unreliable joke due to decades of neglect.
- chhib 8y ago
  Fun fact: I've heard from a friend working in trains that the Norwegians are envious of how efficient we Swedes are in regards to trains. To them, we have struck the perfect balance of maintaining an OK railway in relation to the very few krona we spend. I agree with you, it is a joke.
8y ago

aclsid 8y ago

The thing is that building in China is way cheaper than in the US, so for them it makes sense to just keep demolishing stuff and build new stuff. I saw it happening several times all over China. In Shanghai for instance, they are building a new Maglev station next to the old one, so there is no upgrading old stuff there.

toomanybeersies 8y ago

In my experience from travelling through third world countries, they tend to build impressive projects, and then never maintain them and they fall apart. I guess getting money for maintenance is politically harder, and saying "hey, we have this well maintained infrastructure" is much less impressive than "hey, we built this impressive new piece of infrastructure". Vietnam seems particularly bad for it. They have some very nice new roads, but after a few years they're filled with potholes and an absolute pain to drive/ride through. It doesn't help that they aren't actually that well built either. They look nice when new, but there's actually very little under the tarmac, so when monsoon season comes through the roads just wash out.

latchkey 8y ago
Vietnam is a special kind of stupid (maybe not the right word, but best I can do). The whole country is filled with partially finished and failed projects (not just the roads), right next to brand new construction. I actually consider all of this part of the charm of living here. Makes for excellent urban exploration! Becamex IDC is a company founded in 1976 to build a whole city north of Saigon in Binh Duong. There is nice wide and well-paved roads, sidewalks, schools, multiple golf courses, churches, car dealerships, hospitals, power plants... it is literally sim city in real life. The only twist is that it is still nearly empty. The only people out there are factory workers. The factories even import managers from Korea and Japan, who spend their days playing at the golf courses. The locals either live in factory housing or in really inexpensive places. There is whole communities of housing built up where only a few people live. It is kind of amazing really... the whole country is full of half finished places like this. https://i.imgur.com/GIPMBmT.png https://i.imgur.com/GIPMBmT.png https://i.imgur.com/LRVIX7h.png https://i.imgur.com/LRVIX7h.png My guess is that when the sea levels rise and Saigon is under water, Binh Duong will be hot property... in 100 years.

est 8y ago

> Maintaining things currently in use is a lot harder Not so hard if the govn't simply crackdown Unions and worker protests. And tolls for every new road.