The Crumbling Infrastructure

Anyone who drives our roads and highways knows this innately. Roads, bridges, tunnels, railroads, and even airports are not in the kind of shape that they should be in. And those are the most visible parts of the infrastructure that keeps the country humming.

The Tappan Zee Bridge in New York carries I-87, the NYS Thruway, across the Hudson River and north towards Albany. It now carries far more traffic than it was designed for, and that's taking a serious toll on the bridge's condition.

In this latest inspection, 11 yellow flags were found, indicating potentially hazardous structural conditions. There were also 11 safety flags marking possible dangers to cars or pedestrians.

It's important to note that none of the problems ever posed any threat to the structural safety of the bridge and more than half of these problems have already been repaired.

Hoffer: "Is it safe to say that it is getting harder and harder?"

Ramesh Mehta, New York State Thruway: "To maintain? There's no doubt about it. Absolutely."

New York Thruway's chief engineer took us underneath the massive steel and concrete span to show us the bridge's condition.

Mehta: "You can continue to maintain this bridge for many more years, but the question is whether or not it would be cost effective to maintain it or not."

In the last ten years, the state has spent more than $300 million dollars patching and repairing the Tappan Zee. Later this year, an additional $150 million will go into replacing the bridge deck. Yet, as the latest inspection report shows despite all the money, the thruway's repair crews struggle to keep up with the holes, cracks, and corrosion.

For now, the bridge is safe. The thruway's continuing cycle of inspection and repair keeps the aging bridge structurally sound. But experts tell us it's a costly way of buying time while the power brokers in Albany try to come up with a permanent fix.

Mehta: "Every morning, every evening, we have miles and miles of backup, and if you have to invest money, it is better in my opinion to replace the bridge."

A good part of the problem lies in the fact that important decisions have been put off for too long. The bridge was never designed to last this long with the kinds of traffic it now carries on a daily basis.

And the problems are found throughout the country. Bridges big and small need to be replaced, modernized, and upgraded. And it takes money. Lots of it. A small bridge in New Jersey carrying the North Jersey Coast line will cost $4.7 million to repair. At the same time, New Jersey Transit approved a contract for preliminary engineering on improving platforms at Penn Station in NYC.

Seattle is looking at replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct, which could be destroyed in a major earthquake. That's no small endeavor, as it could cost upwards of $2 billion to rebuild, or $3.6 billion to replace with a tunnel. The mayor wants the tunnel, which would open up urban renewal possibilities, while Gov. Gregoire is backing the rebuild option.

Los Angeles is considering a multibillion dollar bond act to fix roads. This bond act will compete with other issues for priority and may be defeated at the ballot box by taxpayers fed up with rising taxes to cover the costs for such projects. California is also looking at a levee system that is being strained by heavy weather conditions over the past several weeks, and homes that may be washed away by landslides.

That's just a small sampling of the kinds of infrastructure projects that are ongoing around the country, and whose dependability must be assured for safety and security. While most people agree that infrastructure is crumbling and needs to be fixed, replaced, or otherwise improved, the question of how to pay for it all is a question mark.

Down in Florida, some are betting on a public/private consortium to answer that question in trying to build a new tunnel:

The Florida Department of Transportation is trying to entice international construction firms and financiers into a partnership that would be unique to the Sunshine State but is quite common for major infrastructure projects in Europe and Asia.

An industry newsletter recently reported that firms from Spain, France, Australia and Brazil that specialize in such public-private partnerships are lining up partners before the April 12 filing deadline.

What's happening with the port tunnel is part of a bigger trend. International firms have been storming cash-strapped governments and authorities across the United States, offering to privatize bridges, tunnels and toll roads in return for long-term profits.

Here's how it would conceptually work: DOT will select a team that would receive exclusive 35-year rights to finance, build, operate and maintain the twin two-lane portals under Government Cut that would provide a straight shot for truckers to Interstates 395 and 95 via the MacArthur Causeway.

The vendor will absorb all the costs during the first five years when the tunnel is under construction. The public won't start repaying the money until the tunnel opens in the sixth year. Experts say the vendors are seeking a steady, reliable cash flow stream over a long period of time, plus a profit margin in the 8-to-12-percent range.

The state would maintain some control over the vendor via its so-called ''availability payments.'' In a nutshell, if the road isn't available for traffic -- and Mother Nature is not to blame -- the state can dock the vendor's pay. If maintenance is slipping, the state can withhold a portion of its annual or quarterly payment.

Let's assume the tunnel will cost $1.3 billion to design and build. The state and county have already set aside about $300 million -- including the $100 million Miami-Dade voters committed in the 2004 general obligation bond issue election.

So the vendors will be financing the remaining $1 billion.

Experts familiar with similar public-private deals say the state would be looking at an annual payment in the ballpark of $70 million to $75 million a year over 35 years to make it work.

Other options include design and build contracts, where the contractor designs and builds the bridge - which has the potential benefit of reduced costs. It's a method being chosen for some bridge construction in Louisiana.

UPDATE:
And don't forget that parts of the country are susceptible to earthquake damage and are unprepared or underprepared for such a situation. San Francisco is about to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1906 quake, which heavily damaged the city and the ensuing firestorm destroyed what wasn't already damaged. And there are concerns that it is unprepared for another big quake despite the billions spent on infrastructure improvements. But quakes aren't confined to California. Alaska has had severe quakes in the past, as have Charleston, SC, New Madrid, MO, and even the northeastern US. A state by state breakdown shows that all but a few states have had moderate to strong earthquakes occur within their borders in just the past 200 years.