Iron Workers Call on Congress to Break Gridlock on Infrastructure

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.ironworkers.org/news-magazine/news/2013/06/03/iron-workers-call-on-congress-to-break-gridlock-on-infrastructure

Jun 03, 2013

Washington, D.C. – Iron Workers’s General President Walter Wise issued a call Friday for Congress to address the problem of America’s crumbling infrastructure. “The collapse of the Skagit River Bridge in Washington serves as a reminder that this can’t wait until after the next election,” said Wise, adding that “infrastructure maintenance and improvement is not a partisan issue.”

President Wise points to years of poor reports on the state of the country’s infrastructure to make the case that action on this issue is long overdue. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the country’s bridges a grade of D+ this year.[1] The Washington bridge collapse and the 2007 collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge in Minnesota illustrate the pressing safety threat posed by substandard bridges.

The Ironworkers have also called for high standards in bridge construction. They point to the San Francisco Area Bay Bridge, which has been built using substandard Chinese steel and fabrication.[2] To date, the bridge has suffered numerous failures and delays related to its materials and construction. Amid continuing reports of these setbacks, the federal government has begun an investigation[3] and California Governor Jerry Brown has called for a review of the California Department of Transportation.[4]

FULL release at link.

[freshwest]

1. Ironworkers rule! Used to know a lot of them. They help to make history.