This month, the 6th General Vice President of the Ironworkers Union, Jay Hurley, decided enough was enough. The debate about the merits of infrastructure investment seem to have gone on too long for Mr. Hurley and it was high time to gather the cold, hard, crumbling evidence himself. From Hurley's Facebook post (may not be accessible without establishing Facebook friendship, screenshot below):
For those who discount the allegations about safe bridges, I had our DC safety reps go out to document an example of a bridge on Route 128 in Gloucester, MA. Approximately 100 feet over the water, this bridge carries 57,164 vehicles per day...
The photographs of the structure are striking, scary and inform the dire situation countless U.S. bridges are in. Here are a few of the photographs:
Actions like Hurley's were recently facilitated by a website -- Work That Needs Doing -- which encourages people to document and upload images of roads, bridges, schools and other public works that need repair so they can be highlighted for potential investments.
The comments on Hurley's photographs, though few because of the personal profile nature of the post, are representative of the sentiment across the nation.
"Jay may be its time to send Harry Reid some of these pic's, Brother," one friend wrote. "Hello federal government. Could have another Minnesota on our hands. Then maybe they'll do something," read another.
Others were more direct, suggesting "pass the jobs bill now!" and simply "find alternate route."
Kudos to Hurley for making note of this dangerous situation. This type of direct action, especially if it is able to either gain broader attention or wind up on the desks of the policy makers on Capitol Hill, can only help.