Hoover was just an example; I think dam-building days are about over, altho we could use a lot of reservoirs for pumped hydro storage en.wikipedia.org 
However, we need wind farms, we need concentrated solar farms, we need PV farms, we need to replace long haul trucks with electric trains, we need a smart grid the utilities won't build on their own, we need to replace a water distribution system that springs 700 leaks/ day and is a burden on the economy, etc. How much did this cost the economy in lost work time? What do old bridges take out of the economy?
If not now, when?
EAST RUTHERFORD -- Route 3 in New Jersey has reopened after a water main break forced it to close for nearly 24 hours.
Crews worked through the night to replace the ruptured pipe and repair the undermined roadway in East Rutherford.
The main broke early Monday morning near MetLife Stadium, forcing authorities to close Route 3's eastbound lanes.
All traffic was being diverted to the Route 3 service road, the New Jersey Turnpike and Route 120.
The roadway, a major access to the Lincoln Tunnel, was shut down throughout much of the day
abclocal.go.com
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Crumbling Bridges’ $140 Billion Tab Leaves Business Paying Price
By Carol Wolf - Oct 30, 2011 9:00 PM PT
Jim Benton, a Jeffersonville, Indiana, jewelry-store owner, says sales fell 40 percent in two weeks after the Sherman Minton Bridge connecting his border community to customers in Kentucky closed Sept. 9.
Fifteen miles from the bridge’s Kentucky side, officials at United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS)’s Worldport, the world’s largest automated package-handling facility, say they’ve used software to reroute trucks with no substantial impact. That’s not so easy for Benton, who said he’s keeping longer hours and buying less merchandise for the holiday season.
Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Megan Hughes reports on the impact of U.S. bridge closings and repairs on local businesses. The average U.S. bridge is 43 years old, while the average useful life is generally about 50 years, according to the Federal Highway Administration. The agency said in 2006 that it would cost $140 billion to immediately repair every deficient bridge in the U.S. (Source: Bloomberg)
The Sherman Minton Bridge, which carried about 80,000 vehicles across the Ohio River, was closed after cracks as wide as a 12-ounce soda can were found in the structural steel, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The Sherman Minton Bridge, which carried about 80,000 vehicles across the Ohio River, was closed after cracks as wide as a 12-ounce soda can were found in the structural steel, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Source: Indiana Department of Transportation
Benton’s plight is playing out for small businesses across the U.S., where 3,538 bridges were closed in 2010, as customers shop elsewhere rather than take detours. With the average U.S. bridge seven years from the end of its useful life, and one-fourth of 600,000 crossings classified by regulators as“structurally deficient,” more places will be hurt by closings, said Barry LePatner, founder of LePatner & Associates LLP, a New York-based construction law and consulting firm.
“Bridge failures throw a monkey wrench into the economic life of communities,” LePatner said. “Things aren’t going to get better, things are going to get much worse.”
bloomberg.com |
