4 ms·

The cities are already perpetually under construction/maintenance and still, there's decade-old potholes in some places. Electrified cement: how much more maint

The cities are already perpetually under construction/maintenance and still, there's decade-old potholes in some places. Electrified cement: how much more maintenance effort will that take? Are the economic and environmental benefits worth it? It could be Also, if it's a smart city and big tech is involved, think of the scale of the planned obsolescence issues

wudangmonk 3y ago
This has to be a racket to extract as much public money as possible. At least in the US and in most cities I have been, projects take years and they usually only send a few guys to work on it about once per week. A few years later they suddenly finish everything in a few months.
- mulmen 3y ago
  Are those workers at home or are they at other job sites with closer deadlines? In other words, is the squeaky wheel getting all the grease?
- TechBro8615 3y ago
  In software, projects take years and they usually send a few guys to work on it for eight hours every day. A few years later they suddenly decide to rewrite everything and never finish it.
- freitzkriesler2 3y ago
  Really it comes down to allocation of (affordle) resourcing and the bidding process construction companies have to do for the cities. Typically the teams you see are being split between several projects and one construction project mnanager is managing several projects. Then throw in city permitting and inspections which take an awful amount of time and expense. Is there a reason it's slow? Yes, they're trying to keep budgets low. However there isn't a reason it needs to be slow. When there's a political will and cultural to do it fast and safely, it gets done. That bridge collapse in Philly on i95 took like 10 days to repair. It also probably cost a lot to repair as well but there was a political will to do it because of how critical that infrastructure is. Same goes for bridges and highways on California destroyed by earthquakes or landslides. Those get rebuilt quickly but the cost to do so is very high.
- Retric 3y ago
  That’s generally optimizing for cost over speed, empty sites are cheap and going slow tends to save money. It also lets the company constantly move people through a backlog of projects at different locations rather than adding a few people then having breaks in work where you have to let people go. There is also real physical limitations when moving dirt around. If you quickly make a big pile it settle quite a bit. So instead you add a few inches at a time and bring out heavy equipment then let it settle, do some tests, and repeat. https://youtu.be/22W5tRWbUVI https://youtu.be/22W5tRWbUVI
Supermancho 3y ago
> The cities are already perpetually under construction/maintenance and still, there's decade-old potholes in some places. Talk about endless construction, see London. Improvements come gradually with new construction, then the old are propped up/covered up/stripped-and-refaced as long as they are useful and upgraded when convenient.
- freitzkriesler2 3y ago
  The UK is astronomical with how it does their permitting, planning, and PM. Oxford's wolvercote roundabout took like 3 or 4 years to complete for what could have amounted to a year of work for any American crew. Want to hear a joke? Skanska workers working.
wilg 3y ago
I think it is reasonable to expect a city to be perpetually under construction and maintenance.

wudangmonk 3y ago

This has to be a racket to extract as much public money as possible. At least in the US and in most cities I have been, projects take years and they usually only send a few guys to work on it about once per week. A few years later they suddenly finish everything in a few months.

mulmen 3y ago
Are those workers at home or are they at other job sites with closer deadlines? In other words, is the squeaky wheel getting all the grease?
TechBro8615 3y ago
In software, projects take years and they usually send a few guys to work on it for eight hours every day. A few years later they suddenly decide to rewrite everything and never finish it.
freitzkriesler2 3y ago
Really it comes down to allocation of (affordle) resourcing and the bidding process construction companies have to do for the cities. Typically the teams you see are being split between several projects and one construction project mnanager is managing several projects. Then throw in city permitting and inspections which take an awful amount of time and expense. Is there a reason it's slow? Yes, they're trying to keep budgets low. However there isn't a reason it needs to be slow. When there's a political will and cultural to do it fast and safely, it gets done. That bridge collapse in Philly on i95 took like 10 days to repair. It also probably cost a lot to repair as well but there was a political will to do it because of how critical that infrastructure is. Same goes for bridges and highways on California destroyed by earthquakes or landslides. Those get rebuilt quickly but the cost to do so is very high.
Retric 3y ago
That’s generally optimizing for cost over speed, empty sites are cheap and going slow tends to save money. It also lets the company constantly move people through a backlog of projects at different locations rather than adding a few people then having breaks in work where you have to let people go. There is also real physical limitations when moving dirt around. If you quickly make a big pile it settle quite a bit. So instead you add a few inches at a time and bring out heavy equipment then let it settle, do some tests, and repeat. https://youtu.be/22W5tRWbUVI https://youtu.be/22W5tRWbUVI

Supermancho 3y ago

> The cities are already perpetually under construction/maintenance and still, there's decade-old potholes in some places. Talk about endless construction, see London. Improvements come gradually with new construction, then the old are propped up/covered up/stripped-and-refaced as long as they are useful and upgraded when convenient.

freitzkriesler2 3y ago
The UK is astronomical with how it does their permitting, planning, and PM. Oxford's wolvercote roundabout took like 3 or 4 years to complete for what could have amounted to a year of work for any American crew. Want to hear a joke? Skanska workers working.

wilg 3y ago

I think it is reasonable to expect a city to be perpetually under construction and maintenance.