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Bad, bad Danger and dollars past: a look at the shocking state of the country's infrastructure … And how it got that way
Chicago, IL (January 2008) "The verdict is that the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, and the results are far from reassuring. We knew that the disaster of August 2007 was a "call of attention "to the poor condition of our nation's infrastructure, but you may not have realized what a nightmare of public safety and economic we were actually starting to realize. Barry B. LePatner says new report confirms two facts: 1) our government has dropped the ball in a shocking, and 2) if we do not aggressive action now, it's just a matter of time before the tragedy that is inevitable. In fact, the real surprise is that more bridges have not fallen.
If you have not heard, the report recently published by the National Transportation Safety Board, said that inspectors believe the bridge collapse, resulting in 13 dead and 145 injured, was caused by a defect in the original design of the bridge. But that's not the amazing part. Hard as it may be to believe, the government does not require that inspectors periodically review the original design documents to ensure that bridges are held under current conditions, even though many of these structures are half century old or more.
"The design flaw revelations are only the tip of an iceberg highly condemnable," says LePatner, coauthor of the failures Structural and Foundations (McGraw-Hill, 1982, coauthored with Sidney M. Johnson, PE) and author of buildings in ruins, Busted Budgets: How to fix U.S. Trillion-Dollar Construction Industry (The University of Chicago Press, October 2007, ISBN-13: 978-0-226-47267-6 ISBN-10: 0-226-47267-1, $ 25.00).
"In 40 years, new calculations were done to determine how much weight the bridge should be held under current conditions." There was more traffic flowing this bridge? Yes, if renovations have been made to the bridge that adds weight to the structure? Yes, and indeed, there was heavy construction equipment parked on the bridge when it collapsed. But no one has said, 'Wait one minute let's make sure this bridge can handle all these changes that have occurred. "For me, that is terrible! "
And here is some food for thought more disturbing: there are currently 72 000 bridges that the federal government labels "structurally deficient "and 80,000 labeled" functionally obsolete. "The fall of the bridge I-35 was not on either list.
The state of the infrastructure system in the U.S. today's results have been poorly managed and underfunded for years, says LePatner. Currently, there are no required minimum uniform standards by the state for the maintenance of bridges and roads. Bridge inspections occur every two years by federal requirements, but when these are carried out often subjective visual observations that do not use the latest technology to detect cracks and corrosion that may be invisible.
Today, he adds, U.S. government provides $ 2 billion in annual maintenance costs of 592,000 bridges that are within its competence. This gives a paltry $ 3,500 per bridge.
"It not take a genius to realize that $ 3,500 is not enough to cover an adequate bridge inspection, "says LePatner." And if you and I can give realize that, you better believe the politicians who allocate the money know it too. But politicians do not get the votes for the renewal of infrastructure. It is a issue that is simply not attractive enough for them, so he is not interested in supporting it. They just bury their heads in the sand and hope nothing bad happens the clock! "
Another factor hindering the funding of repairs is the game system that allows state governments to do what they want with the money given to them by the federal government.
"The federal government does not give X amount of money from the State and say a bridge in need of repair and must state use that money to repair it, "says LePatner." So the state uses its own criteria for deciding how to use the money, and can result in, I do not know renewals of the park instead of the bridge repairs. "
Today there are still problems, despite decades of engineering analysis and reports have highlighted the deteriorating nature of our infrastructure and the cost of rehabilitation, is now estimated that hundreds of thousands of millions and growing exponentially as happens every year. Over the years, the problem has not magically disappeared (like politicians, no doubt, would like that), but has a ball Snow and a snowball.
"There are more than 12,000 bridges are used today, whose designs are similar to I-35 bridge," says LePatner. "And there are over 100,000 more that need detailed inspections to ensure their safety. The harsh reality is that as it stands now, there is no cheap or easy solutions to the problem of infrastructure in the U.S., but every day they go unchecked our safety is at risk. "
What this really comes down to that bridge crosses their way to work, the bridge of your child school bus traveling through, or the bridge that leads to their favorite vacation spot could fall. When you look that way, says LePatner, you realize that the years of neglect, our politicians have allowed and even encouraged-is similar to a criminal offense.
"The longer we wait to solve these problems, become larger, "says LePatner." Not only is the safety of citizens at risk in day to day, but these broken bridges and infrastructure problems larger than the signal will also hurt the U.S. ability to compete in an economy global. Moreover, our infrastructure is crumbling a threat to national security that invites terrorists and those bent on our nation off economy to perform their work in a much easier, more attractive. "
Of course, there are no simple solutions. Now that we have a huge budget deficit and a recession waiting in the wings, LePatner worries that there is simply no money available for major repairs to the infrastructure the nation. His theory is that maybe we should start with the reform of the system, covering both the construction industry, and government and Arenas will be achieved only if citizens demand it.
"There absolutely has to be a national dialogue about what we do with this huge and growing problem" LePatner says. "And in order to create a dialogue, the people of this country have to demand that politicians pay attention. For the moment, nobody is talking about it. The presidential candidates are focusing all their attention on the war, healthcare and immigration. Not seem to want to discuss what to do about the problem of infrastructure. We will have to take note.
"Our politicians have forced us in the driver's seat," adds LePatner. "We, the citizens, must insist that our infrastructure problems are a national priority. End of story. It's crazy that things have been allowed to reach this point. It is time to start hold our politicians accountable for their management or mismanagement of our money, and there is no better time to do the election season! We have to start to repair our infrastructure, we must do so in a fiscally responsible, and we must do now. Do not wait until the next tragedy to get serious about it. "
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About the author:
Barry B. LePatner, Esq., Is the founder of New York City law-based LePatner & Associates LLP. For three decades, has been prominent as a consultant in business and legal issues affecting real estate, design and construction. He is the head of the law firm that has grown to become widely recognized as one of the nation's leading advisors to corporate and institutional clients, the real estate owners and design professionals.
A nationally recognized speaker, Mr. LePatner has lectured on topics central to trends affecting the real estate industry in recent events such as: "Real Estate Outlook" a series of annual seminars for corporate executives and estate, "Protection of Risk at the current building owner Projects", a series of Continuing Legal Education lectures to law firms lawyers and their internal real estate departments, "Protection, Survival, Preparedness: Draft Strategy for the Post 9 / 11", a seminar submitted institutional resources, developers and corporate executives of real estate; "safe space", a building security seminar for owners companies and developers, and "Marketing for Design Professionals" in the Summer School at Harvard University Program Design with A. Eugene Kohn From 1990 to 2004.
He has written extensively and is widely quoted in the media on the subject of construction law. He previously co LePatner legal section of the Interior Design Handbook, McGraw-Hill, 2001, Structural and Foundation Failures: a casebook of architects, engineers and lawyers, McGraw-Hill, 1982, coauthored with Sidney M. Johnson, PE
Recently published articles include "Construction Cost Increases: Owners should be aware the difference between the myths and realities ", Journal of Real Estate New York, October 2006, and" Are You Prepared for Disaster Management Plans for help owners to protect their investments "in the March / April 2006 issue of Real Estate Investment business. Articles published in the New York Law Journal include: "Warning Advocatus-Drafting of the proposed construction of their client agreements to build the new building is not what it used to be," March 27, 2006. Since 1980, he has edited and published the LePatner Report, a quarterly newsletter for business and legal affairs for the design of the company, real estate and construction clients.
About the book:
Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets: How to fix America Industry trillion Construction (The University of Chicago Press, October 2007, ISBN-13: 978-0-226-47267-6 ISBN-10: 0-226-47267-1, $ 25.00) is available at bookstores across the country, in libraries online, and direct from the publisher at www.press.uchicago.edu.
For more information, visit www.brokenbuildings.com.
Bridging the Gaps:
Six Solutions to repair damaged infrastructure of the Nation
The recent report by the National Transportation Safety Board in the collapse of Minneapolis I-35 bridge provide an idea of how serious the situation with the infrastructure of our nation. The report added to concerns that the inspections are infrequent and insufficient funding for transport is inadequate and misused, and the nation lacks the proper amount of expertise to fully consider the situation.
Construction attorney Barry B. LePatner says now is the time to redeem our previous neglect. This means transforming the way we think not only in the infrastructure of our nation, but the nature of the construction industry itself. He offers the following six solutions:
* Establish a standardized throughout the country for the classification of the remediation needs of the U.S. infrastructure. Many of the problems with the infrastructure our nation are the result of the relaxation of standards of inspection in recent years, says LePatner. As a result, engineers can classify different structural problems differently, often for political reasons. For example, in a situation where a decision maker knows the money for repairs not available, lax rules make it possible for him "childish" that a report so that action be deferred. The result is that the engineer of presentation Reporting on the bridge of A could write that he is in serious need of repairs because of the first signs of corrosion. Meanwhile, the bridge B, which is at worst, could be put into a less urgent.
"We need a strict national standard for the classification of these needs action, both state and federal levels, as well as control engineers training, "says LePatner." That way we can ensure consistency assessments of infrastructure, and serious problems in bridges, tunnels and roads will be more likely to be reported and treated. "
* Institute a national drive to increase the number of engineers and construction experts. At the moment we unfortunately decimated, says LePatner. America simply has no the structural engineers needed to carry out the overwhelming amount of the reparation to be made.
"I like to see a national effort aimed at increasing the number of civil engineers and construction experts needed to address the problem of United States infrastructure, "he says." Think of it as a 21st century version of the 1950 boost science education in the aftermath of Sputnik. We must tell our young people that construction is a career exciting and noble, and strengthen the areas of our school system accordingly. "
* Make sure tax dollars directed to projects construction is used correctly. This is often the case, says LePatner. He reports that a meta-study of the construction industry productivity analysis recently concluded that up to 50 percent of all money spent on construction work is wasted because late deliveries, poor coordination of subcontractors, and other circumstances prevent employees from working at the site of production. These deficiencies are due largely to the flaws inherent in the construction industry our nation's 1.23 trillion U.S. dollars, which LePatner calls "the mother one last time and the pop industry in the United States."
The solution, says, is to reform the way public officials work with contractors. For example, they must:
-Focus on fixed price contracts truth. The contracts drawn up by industry members are generally insufficient, as one not) to allocate risk properly between the parties, b) provide proven gaps for contractors to submit claims for additional costs.
-Keep qualified representatives with experience in the construction site with the knowledge in depth that can monitor not only quality, but the true cost of the work.
-Make sure there are milestone dates for substantial completion and partial completion of rehabilitation. Use incentives and penalties to ensure punctuality.
üPurchase bulk materials to leverage economies of scale.
"By implementing these suggestions, even partially, our nation could save billions of dollars," he insists.
* Review of the inspection infrastructure nationwide. As it stands, bridge inspections are only required every few years, due to the inspectors to search only visible cracks and corrosion, inspections are superficial at best. It is alarming that many bridges still operating in its original load calculations. For example, when the I-35 bridge was built 40 years ago, calculations were made to determine the maximum load the bridge could hold, including considerations for the amount traffic would be using the bridge and whether the bridge could accommodate heavy vehicles. But despite the increased traffic volume over the years and renovations were added to the weight of the bridge, there were no new calculations to determine the load the bridge could safely be held in current conditions.
"What is even more exciting of the report's findings is the fact that even after what I found, the NTSB is still only recommend, not require, owners to recalculate periodically bridge bridge loads, "says LePatner." The joint inspection system must be revised. And I think NTSB should start with making more stringent requirements for inspections of bridges and state and federal governments handing out stiffer penalties when the bridges are not well maintained. The problem does not stop growing until we can get a grasp on the inspection process. "
* Investing in the latest technology. The methods used to detect cracks and corrosion in bridges today are insufficient. Most inspection methods can not detect microscopic problems. But according to the Center for American Progress, wireless sensor technology exists that allows all aspects of a bridge to be examined by a strain temperature to seismic activity. Perhaps the best thing about the new sensors is that they can be added or incorporated in the bridge for a bridge condition can be managed often as necessary. "What this new technology can do is surprising," says LePatner. "It will provide more frequent information reliable information on our nation's bridges, which reduces the likelihood of human error and conflicting reports on the status of a bridge. Each State should use this technology to assess which bridges need immediate repairs. "
* Review the process of transportation funding. With hundreds of billions of dollars to repair all the problems in our country infrastructure, every penny of the funds that were distributed for transportation should be used carefully and appropriate. Unfortunately, this does not happen. The money has been ripped from transit agencies, they need all of the funding they can get to get a handle a problem of infrastructure. Add to that the fact that the money given to state governments by the federal government to transport is often used for projects may be more evident to taxpayers, but does nothing for public safety. For example, a state government may use part of its transportation budget to beautify a park instead of buying new equipment inspection of the facility or finance the repair of a bridge failing.
"The money must be used specifically for infrastructure repairs in state and local level, "says LePatner." Politicians need to realize that these bridges are not threatening the public safety of everyday life, national security and an economy already struggling. The costs will come by if finally happen now or after the next great collapse. It's time to take the lead. "
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About the Author
Barry B. LePatner, Esq., is the founder of the New York City-based law firm LePatner & Associates LLP. Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets: How to Fix America’s Trillion-Dollar Construction Industry (The University of Chicago Press, October 2007, ISBN-13: 978-0-226-47267-6, ISBN-10: 0-226-47267-1, $25.00) is available at bookstores nationwide, from major online booksellers, and direct from the publisher at www.press.uchicago.edu.
Eddie Opara