Tag Archives: Bridges
Posted in Bridge Design | Current Events | Economic Development | Politics | Transportation
Want a valuable primer on all-things-transportation for Pennsylvania in our current economy? If you haven’t yet heard about Governor Corbett’s Transportation Funding Advisory Council (TFAC), you should. PA is notorious for crumbling infrastructure, including structurally deficient bridges and debilitated roadways. To pursue creative, viable solutions for our transportation woes, Governor Corbett created the TFAC this past spring, to thoroughly investigate and report on a way forward.
The Advisory Council was charged with comprehensively reviewing the movement of goods and people in Pennsylvania, and in August they published a 70 page report of their findings. It’s quite a lesson on our bridges, roadways, public transportation and passenger rail, freight rail, aviation and ports. In the report you learn great facts like these:
> Read the rest of this article
Posted in Bridge Design | Codes & Regulations | Economic Development | Politics | Transportation
Image © 2011 Google Maps
A few years ago, I conducted research for my independent study during my senior year at Lafayette College. My study was part of the 2006 Infrastructure Report Card for the State of Pennsylvania. Living in one of the oldest states in the union as well as a state that has frequent freeze-thaw cycles, I did not have high hopes for the grades the roads and bridges would yield based on their condition, performance, capacity, and funding needs. Turns out, I was correct. Pennsylvania roads received a grade of “D” (meaning poor on the grading schedule) while the bridges did slightly better with a grade of “C” (meaning mediocre). The release of the report card caused commotion and called for government officials to fund infrastructure maintenance programs. In 2009, the Obama Administration provided $27,115,533,955 through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) for Transportation projects around the country, with Pennsylvania receiving $1,098,699,760. In 2010, the American Society of Civil Engineers published the 2010 Infrastructure Report Card for the State of Pennsylvania. I was eager to see the results from the four years of infrastructure improvements. Sadly, I was disappointed. The bridge rating remained a “C” while the roads grade dropped to a “D-”. I was determined to find out why this was the case. It turns out that although the funding from the ARRA was helpful, it is not nearly enough for the upkeep and maintenance of Pennsylvania’s 22,280 bridges and 40,000 state and 76,000 local miles of roadway.
> Read the rest of this article
Posted in Bridge Design | Client Service | Codes & Regulations | Communication | Communities | Economic Development | Structural Engineering
Photo: Cocalico No. 3 bridge in Lancaster County © Larson Design Group
Transportation funding has been in the news with discussions on the need to repair, maintain, and improve our extensive network of roads and bridges, not to mention mass transit facilities. As in most discussions of finances, we tend to boil it down to whether we need more money or if we can cut costs to be more cost effective in what we are already doing. > Read the rest of this article
