Poor construction and Poor Maintenance: It seems that "Poor construction and Poor Maintenance" is the basis for much construction. In the 1970s, the City of Kingston, NY had canopies...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

It seems that "Poor construction and Poor Maintenance" is the basis for much construction. In the 1970s, the City of Kingston, NY had canopies built over the sidewalks on Wall Street, the uptown shopping area. The design was done by artist John Pike. There is now a proposal to tear down those canopies because they are in bad condition.

The problem is they weren't built very well, and they weren't maintained very well. Most people want to keep them because they offer people protection from the weather, they look nice, and they've been in place for fifty years. Those in authority know that they are in bad condition, and they don't want them to collapse on top of people. Tearing them down will cost a fortune, interfere with traffic, and hurt business for the local stores.

The perfect solution would be to get into a time machine, go back to 1970, and build them correctly. That would be followed up with regular inspections and repairs. Unfortunately, although inspections are common throughout the country, doing repairs based on those inspections is not the usual practice.

ecblackiii Loc: Maryland

jerryc41 wrote:

It seems that "Poor construction and Poor Mai... (show quote)

Governments are very fond of buying new things with no thought to the lifetime cost of maintaining them. After splurging on "new toys" there is not enough money later to spend on maintenance.

Burtzy Loc: Bronx N.Y. & Simi Valley, CA

In California they have long built freeways with not enough lanes and then widened them decades later at hugely greater cost.

JBRIII

I remember a statement made 20-30 yrs ago, the when the GW bridge in NY was build there was a maintenance crew for it alone larger than then existed for all the bridges in NY city. The discussion was about a bridge which had to be replaced because the support structure had been allows to corrode by 90%, something completely preventable.

Burtzy Loc: Bronx N.Y. & Simi Valley, CA

JBRIII wrote:

I remember a statement made 20-30 yrs ago, the when the GW bridge in NY was build there was a maintenance crew for it alone larger than then existed for all the bridges in NY city. The discussion was about a bridge which had to be replaced because the support structure had been allows to corrode by 90%, something completely preventable.

The GW Bridge was built in the early 1950's ( I used to fly kites alongside it as a kid.) Considering that it's some 70 years old, it's in pretty good condition. A friend of mine was a maintenance engineer and used to sell paint for bridges. He worked on a two year cycle because it would take two years for the crew to paint a bridge and then they would start all over again. Considering what weather can do, it's no surprise that the nose fell off the Sphinx.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

ecblackiii wrote:

Governments are very fond of buying new things with no thought to the lifetime cost of maintaining them. After splurging on "new toys" there is not enough money later to spend on maintenance.

China is very bad about maintenance. They also very bad about construction. Collapsing buildings are a common occurrence, especially because of bribery and cost-cutting. They use the term "tofu-dreg" to describe bad construction. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=chinese+buildings+in+china

During WW II, Germany built lots of tanks, but they didn't make enough spare parts to keep them running. Which was a good thing for us.

SteveFranz Loc: Durham, NC

If they were built in the 1970's and are still standing and useable I would say they were built fairly well.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

SteveFranz wrote:

If they were built in the 1970's and are still standing and useable I would say they were built fairly well.

"Usable" and "fairly well" are the key words. "Lawsuit" and "injury" are other key words.

revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson

"Construction on the George Washington Bridge started in September 1927; the bridge was ceremonially dedicated on October 24, 1931, and opened to traffic the next day." So it is a LOT older than the 70s and even the 50s. It originally had more maintenance workers than all the other NYC bridges combined. The original plan was to cover the tower structures with stone but it was built during the depression and the city couldn't afford it. Many feel the towers are more beautiful as is.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

revhen wrote:

"Construction on the George Washington Bridge started in September 1927; the bridge was ceremonially dedicated on October 24, 1931, and opened to traffic the next day." So it is a LOT older than the 70s and even the 50s. It originally had more maintenance workers than all the other NYC bridges combined. The original plan was to cover the tower structures with stone but it was built during the depression and the city couldn't afford it. Many feel the towers are more beautiful as is.

When the Brooklyn Bridge opened, it had a maintenance team of 250 men. Now, well, not so many.

bobbyjohn Loc: Dallas, TX

ecblackiii wrote:

Governments are very fond of buying new things with no thought to the lifetime cost of maintaining them. After splurging on "new toys" there is not enough money later to spend on maintenance.

A little town in New Hampshire got $20 Million recently to install "heated sidewalks." Huh???

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

bobbyjohn wrote:

A little town in New Hampshire got $20 Million recently to install "heated sidewalks." Huh???

For the homeless, maybe? 😁

https://www.unionleader.com/news/environment/19-5m-earmarked-for-berlin-street-sidewalk-snow-melting-system/article_8f363bf4-0b58-519b-b0a7-0939105d8a49.html

ecblackiii Loc: Maryland

bobbyjohn wrote:

A little town in New Hampshire got $20 Million recently to install "heated sidewalks." Huh???

Pure waste of taxpayer dollars. You can bet it's Federal dollars, maybe sponsored by Berne Sanders.

whatdat Loc: Del Valle, Tx.

Burtzy wrote:

In California they have long built freeways with not enough lanes and then widened them decades later at hugely greater cost.

Austin, tx seems to be that way as well.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

revhen wrote:

"Construction on the George Washington Bridge started in September 1927; the bridge was ceremonially dedicated on October 24, 1931, and opened to traffic the next day." So it is a LOT older than the 70s and even the 50s. It originally had more maintenance workers than all the other NYC bridges combined. The original plan was to cover the tower structures with stone but it was built during the depression and the city couldn't afford it. Many feel the towers are more beautiful as is.

The Brooklyn Bridge was built during a time of significant "corruption", unlike today 🤣, so when Roebling ordered material, he ordered stronger than he needed. The purpose of the bridge was to make it easier for people to get into Brooklyn.