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It's not just PA, unfortunately. It's every state. I don't even need to look up the numbers in my own state (MA) because I've been paying enough attention to kn

It's not just PA, unfortunately. It's every state. I don't even need to look up the numbers in my own state (MA) because I've been paying enough attention to know already that "far too many" will be the answer. We've been neglecting this kind of infrastructure for far too long, because there's not enough political capital in making it a priority. Nobody cares until after the disasters happen. Just like computer security, I guess.

thehappypm 5y ago
MA at least is willing to improve things. I think the best example is the upcoming Allston throat I-90 viaduct replacement. Today, the interstate is elevated above another minor highway, in a narrow strip of land between Boston University and the Charles River, which also includes a bike path and pedestrian walkway AND a major rail artery. The viaduct is in need of replacement, and viaducts are way, way more expensive to maintain than at-grade highways. The new plan is pretty impressive: thanks in part to Boston University giving up some land, the planners found a way to squeeze everything onto the ground level, with the two highways, the railroad, and the pedestrian area all side-by-side. It’s kind of a mess to have so much going on in the throat, but it checks all the boxes, and is a more future-proof solution than building yet another viaduct that won’t last. That project is gonna SUCK for commuters and cost a fortune, but the end state will be a better, safer, easier-to-maintain critical piece of infrastructure that supports cars, buses, rail, bikers, and pedestrians.
throwaway0a5e 5y ago
MA's problem is they spent all their money for 30yr on the big dig leaving nothing left for anything beyond the most minimal maintenance of every other piece of infrastructure. Basically everything got rode hard and put away wet for 30yr. That'll come back to bite them but the people responsible will be comfortably retired by then.
volkl48 5y ago
Ah, but you should, as MA has increased infrastructure spending (at least in this area) and started to see results for it. MA bridge condition improved over the past decade fairly significantly, about $3bn was spent on the Accelerated Bridge Program that was authorized in 2008 and concluded around ~2017. You can look at the more details and the results here: https://www.mass.gov/service-details/accelerated-bridge-program-abp-update https://www.mass.gov/service-details/accelerated-bridge-prog... Last year's transportation bill (which passed) cues up various additional infrastructure investment, including another $1.25bn for state bridge work (+$70m for small local bridges), and is projected to reduce the % of bridges in poor condition further over the next couple of years. There are some nice slides here about where things are projected to go over the next few years thanks to that (11 + 14 in particular). Generally speaking, you can expect to see continued improvement in roadway infrastructure in the state. https://files.engineers.org/file/ACECMA-2021-Highway.pdf https://files.engineers.org/file/ACECMA-2021-Highway.pdf And that was all before the federal infrastructure bill. --------- I am less familiar with PA, but AFAIK they hiked their gas tax significantly to raise infrastructure spending a few years back. Whether it was enough or not I don't know. However, as MA illustrates, it takes a while of making sustained investments to start to see noticeable results and dig yourself out of long-term infrastructure investment deficits.

thehappypm 5y ago

MA at least is willing to improve things. I think the best example is the upcoming Allston throat I-90 viaduct replacement. Today, the interstate is elevated above another minor highway, in a narrow strip of land between Boston University and the Charles River, which also includes a bike path and pedestrian walkway AND a major rail artery. The viaduct is in need of replacement, and viaducts are way, way more expensive to maintain than at-grade highways. The new plan is pretty impressive: thanks in part to Boston University giving up some land, the planners found a way to squeeze everything onto the ground level, with the two highways, the railroad, and the pedestrian area all side-by-side. It’s kind of a mess to have so much going on in the throat, but it checks all the boxes, and is a more future-proof solution than building yet another viaduct that won’t last. That project is gonna SUCK for commuters and cost a fortune, but the end state will be a better, safer, easier-to-maintain critical piece of infrastructure that supports cars, buses, rail, bikers, and pedestrians.

throwaway0a5e 5y ago

MA's problem is they spent all their money for 30yr on the big dig leaving nothing left for anything beyond the most minimal maintenance of every other piece of infrastructure. Basically everything got rode hard and put away wet for 30yr. That'll come back to bite them but the people responsible will be comfortably retired by then.

volkl48 5y ago

Ah, but you should, as MA has increased infrastructure spending (at least in this area) and started to see results for it. MA bridge condition improved over the past decade fairly significantly, about $3bn was spent on the Accelerated Bridge Program that was authorized in 2008 and concluded around ~2017. You can look at the more details and the results here: https://www.mass.gov/service-details/accelerated-bridge-program-abp-update https://www.mass.gov/service-details/accelerated-bridge-prog... Last year's transportation bill (which passed) cues up various additional infrastructure investment, including another $1.25bn for state bridge work (+$70m for small local bridges), and is projected to reduce the % of bridges in poor condition further over the next couple of years. There are some nice slides here about where things are projected to go over the next few years thanks to that (11 + 14 in particular). Generally speaking, you can expect to see continued improvement in roadway infrastructure in the state. https://files.engineers.org/file/ACECMA-2021-Highway.pdf https://files.engineers.org/file/ACECMA-2021-Highway.pdf And that was all before the federal infrastructure bill. --------- I am less familiar with PA, but AFAIK they hiked their gas tax significantly to raise infrastructure spending a few years back. Whether it was enough or not I don't know. However, as MA illustrates, it takes a while of making sustained investments to start to see noticeable results and dig yourself out of long-term infrastructure investment deficits.