When the walls come crumbling down
The Traverse City Record-Eagle has an Op-Ed from Jack Lessenberry on the dire straits of Michigan’s infrastructure that I encourage everyone to read. Jack notes that while folks may have heard about the problems with unemployment, the auto industry and budget deficit, the really bad news it:
Michigan is falling apart. Literally.
The infrastructure, that is; the dams and bridges and water systems. Though it was virtually ignored by the state’s media, the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Michigan chapter released a report Tuesday that ought to have been front-page news. Basically, it said that the state’s roads and bridges are in terrible shape. So are the storm water and sewage systems. They are all crumbling, and state government isn’t even spending enough to stem the decline.
“What this report is saying is that America’s infrastructure is in dire straits,” said Kirk Steudle, the state transportation director.
“We’re squandering our inheritance,” he added. It is hard to imagine that anyone reading this report could disagree. Scariest of all, perhaps: The state’s wastewater systems have lasted decades longer than anyone had reason to think they would.
Bumpy ride: Michigan roads get ‘D’ in the Holland Sentinel lists the damages.
