When did infrastructure become so popular among Democrats?

[Lyin' Steve]

"Fix our crumbling infrastructure" is one of Bernie's top five lines.  "Reasonable moderates" on the internet always list "fixing our infrastructure" in those presumptuous posts where they list of their positions.  Hillary keeps bringing it up.  It's all over the place all of a sudden.

Why the hell is this such a popular line?  Is it just because of Flint?  Does Bernie dream of being FDR and recreating the New Deal alphabet agencies?  I seriously don't get it.  Our roads and bridges are mostly fine, our electric grid and water/sewer systems are in mostly good condition, and the democrats have spent much of the last fifteen years allocating enormous block grants for monorails, railcars, and high-speed rail systems that keep getting rejected by state and metro governments.

[Lyin' Steve]

So according to an Al Jazeera report from 2013, there were 600,000 bridges in the United States, 65,000 were structurally unsound, and 20,000 were "fracture critical."  Gosh that sounds really bad.  Except that there have barely been any bridge collapses in the last fifteen years and most of those were due to either flooding or human error.

2015, Virginia:  Covered bridge collapsed during flooding
2015, California:  Bridge collapsed during flash flood
2015, Pennsylvania:  Bridge collapsed because the contractors working on it didn't do their due diligence before a controlled demolition
2015, Ohio:  Bridge collapsed due to faulty demolition process
2013, Missouri:  Bridge collapsed because a runaway train crashed into it's support pillars
2013, Washington:  Bridge collapsed because an oversized truck crashed into it's girders
2012, Tennessee:  Bridge collapsed because a boat crashed into it
2009, California:  Bridge was repaired incorrectly and a critical component snapped
2009, Michigan:  Wikipedia just says "collapsed due to a tanker accident", no details, presumably that means a boat crashed into it.
2008, Iowa:  Bridge destroyed during flooding
2007, Washington:  Some idiot whose truck was more than five times over the weight limit ignored signs, drove onto bridge, collapsed immediately.
2007, Minnesota:  Collapse due to poor construction
2007, California:  Tanker crash caused a fire, melted steel beams, bridge collapsed.
2004, Colorado:  Girder collapsed during construction project accident
2004, Connecticut:  Car crash started a fire, melted bridge support.
2004, Connecticut:  Collapse due to faulty demolition
2003, Pennsylvania:  Bridge destroyed by tornado
2002, Oklahoma:  Barge crashed into bridge
2002, Texas:  Four barges crashed into bridge
2000, Wisconsin:  Bridge collapsed due to structural deficiencies

So looking all the way back to 2000, out of 600,000 bridges, and 20,000 that are apparently in immediate danger of collapse, there are only two collapses that can actually be attributed to something wrong with the bridge itself, and none since 2007, with everything else being unavoidable accidents or weather.

Meanwhile, in China, looking at the same list, there are tons of bridges collapsing every year due to overloading or structural deficiencies.

I stand by my claim that our roads and bridges are mostly fine and that it doesn't really make sense for this issue to be so hot right now in 2016.

[Lyin' Steve]

So looking all the way back to 2000, out of 600,000 bridges, and 20,000 that are apparently in immediate danger of collapse, there are only two collapses that can actually be attributed to something wrong with the bridge itself, and none since 2007, with everything else being unavoidable accidents or weather.

Please PM me your real name so I can make sure I never hire you for a mission critical job.

It is easy to tell the people on this forum who have never had a real job.

In a field as complex, with as many people involved, and with as many unknown variables as bridge building, an 0.0003% failure rate over sixteen years isn't a damn emergency.

Please PM me your name to remind me never to hire you for a middle management role.  I can tell you're one of those managers who insists on absolutely zero issues rather than understanding probabilities, tradeoffs and practicalities... they usually don't last very long.

[Lyin' Steve]

They have a zero tolerance attitude but plane crashes still happen.  They don't freak out and overcompensate because two crashes happened since 2000 or whatever... they just constantly strive for excellence within reason

[Lyin' Steve]

They have a zero tolerance attitude but plane crashes still happen.

I don't know if this is a reading comprehension issue or a weak ass internet forum tactic for someone with egg on their face.  Let me repeat.  There have been ZERO deadly airplane crashes in the United States involving the major US airlines in the last 15 years.  They have a zero tolerance policy and they have ZERO deadly crashes.  Let me know if this needs to be written in crayon so some people can comprehend it.  Oh, and ticket prices on an inflation adjusted basis remain dirt cheap.



There simply is no excuse for major bridges to collapse in a first world country due to lack of maintenance.  And nowhere where I have ever worked could someone say that is okay and keep their job.

You should always strive for perfection.
But it's not the emergency of the century.
The two poor-construction-related bridge collapses this century are certainly not one of the top five most important problems in our country.
Even you, if you made your list based on what you claim in all the other threads, would probably agree.