I can remember back when I was blogging the first few years of our decline right after the financial crisis hit in 08 that the crumbling infrastructure was a huge problem and in the news all the time. Since then I know regionally there has been quite a bit of money thrown at the problem, especially around 2010 and 2011. Some of the regional highways around here received some serious patch jobs and upgrades/resurface jobs and a couple of bridges got a new coat of paint but really there was no new or totally rebuilt construction to speak of. Just patch jobs and quick fixes.
I can only assume the rest of the nation followed that same path more or less. I know the state maintained highway that runs in front of the Small-Hold used to get a resurface job every three years without fail and the local county gravel roads got a new layer of gravel every year. It has now been over five years since either has happened however as the state has switched to just patching potholes every other year and the county has resorted to basically the same thing by selectively putting down new gravel in small areas.
While the Golfer in Chief is preaching "shovel ready infrastructure projects" in Minnesota today things seem eerily reminiscent of the Stimulus package days don't they? The semi-permanent patches and quick fixes they did so most of that money could go to their Liberal playground accounts are breaking down once again.
Potholes devour municipal budgets
It's simply a matter of time. The infrastructure especially has been collapsing at the edges for years as gravel roads are allowed to disappear and paved roads are chewed up into gravel or allowed to become a pot hole/patched mess .
As usual the Liberals squandered the money on their own pet projects that never show a return and now we are basically back to where we started. This time however they may find it a bit harder to come up with the cash and my bet is it will need to have an approved target before it goes out.
The real question is how will we as preppers deal with this changing situation? Longer trip times and closer scrutiny of our vehicle preps will be in order and making damned sure we have a good spare tire and jack on board at all times is a must. Emergency cold weather gear along with food and water is also mandatory.
My sense is the roads, bridges and other infrastructure are going to begin declining more swiftly especially after this harsh Winter. Be ready.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!
That's a good call on your part - the back roads & side streets, along with small bridges, will be the first to deteriorate. Buy new tires when possible, and wouldn't hurt to have a spare set on hand, if money allows.
ReplyDeleteI have even been considering a spare set already mounted and balanced on an extra set of rims....
DeleteHaving an extra set of tires for my car would be no big deal. Having an extra set for my truck would HURT. Still it is more than likely going to be a fact of life soon I imagine.
DeleteHow much you want to bet that they find a way to blame the pot holes, not on their inactivity, but on either Bush or Climate Change. Possibly a penalty tax is in order on the people ran cars and trucks on the road and caused even more climate change?
ReplyDeleteSF - Ya know the Liberal flag wavers already try and blame the entire stimulus spending on Bush. They have been doing that for years presenting it as a lump sum in with the debt. For a while it had the ability to raise Bush's so called debt accumulation above Obummers... I don;t think it works for em anymore.
Delete4x4s with off road suspension for on road driving.
ReplyDeleteRuss - Maybe but with those potholes the suspension isn't going to help the tires much when they hit the edge. Still it would help keep the rest of the vehicle from getting torn to shreds.
DeleteThis reminds of a line from Space Viking by H. Beam Piper, a pretty good scifi read that talks (indirectly) about the decline of societies. One of the characters is taking about societal decline and notes it is not just due to massive failures but can be a slow decline: nothing works quite as well as it used to and nobody know how to really fix things anymore.
ReplyDeleteLook for this to continue - first in rural areas and non-blue counties.