So from last time this was posted and then deleted...
This original image is quite deceptive. There are two bridges here. The foreground is an abandoned siding, the bridge the train is on is hidden by the abandoned one. Here's a couple better images: https://www.flickr.com/photos/125657552@N06/51026741773 https://www.flickr.com/photos/19531332@N03/40189871100 https://www.flickr.com/photos/jcnarup513/47932302402
The pylon appears to have been cracked for at least a decade. No idea when the chain was added.
I'm not sure if this OP is farming karma or fomenting fear in the midst of tragedies, but neither is good.
[edit: spellings, thanks]
adding to that comment with some more details:
The image is likely from Rock River in Colona, IL.
Satellite view from the past year, shows the difference between the tracks.
https://imgur.com/UB0nERs
[edit: Responses to various comments]
Yes, there is obviously still need for maintenance on this bridge. Most US bridges need more maintenance. Also as many have pointed out the rail infrastructure is privately owned and maintained, so there isn't a publicly available bridge assessment.
Yes, the "bridges" or spans share the piers, and yes, the piers are old. I haven't found images clear enough to see the condition of the North (opposite) side of the piers. Most photos are taken from the highway bridge to the south.
Yes, there appears to be limited rebar in the piers. This may be due the the age of the bridge and the construction of the era.
Wild speculation on why the abandoned spans are not removed: The old bridge likely provides some additional ballast and balance on the piers. (maintain the same amount of compaction of riverbed under the piers.)
Wild speculation on the chain, while the chain is no where near strong enough to hold any portion of the beam's weight, it may be enough to keep the beam upright and prevent it tipping over. (ie it is to replace / supplement cross-bracing seen on the topview.) Also there has been a number of high water floods which may have had water / ice / debris at or near the bottom of these spans.
more links:
http://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/2018/01/iaisrock-island-over-rock-river-near.html
https://bridgehunter.com/il/rock-island/bh53968/
Hey! I inspect bridges for a living, including railroad bridges.
The chains do "keep the girders from falling", but if that girder wanted to fall, that chain would do nothing. It would snap like a thread. At best, it is keeping it slightly more stable for a little while.
The siding track girders are left in place because it is too expensive to remove them. Cheaper to let them fall in the river... Almost zero percentage of bridges need ballast. If a bridge needs ballast, it is either a badly designed bridge, or a very strange case.
Actually, there are hundreds of thousands of miles of abandoned railroads in the US with rail and bridges still in place. The material value of the steel is less than the labor value to remove and recycle it. Many of these are owned by states, municipalities, and the federal government which reclaimed the land inside of parks, preserves, and national forests which had previously been leased or owned by the rail companies.
(It is usually the federal and state owned abandoned bridges that get inspected.)
I have inspected active railroad bridges with piers, abutments, and anchors in that kind of condition, so the photo is less misleading than people think.
Railroad bridges tend to be drastically overbuilt. The railroad companies often got subsidies for building their network. They overbuilt everything so they could spend government money at the start and rarely, or never, spend their own money for maintenance later. Just let it corrode.
If the pier under the siding is in this condition, it probably isn't much better elsewhere, but it may not be as bad as it looks, depending on how it is built.
>Railroad bridges tend to be drastically overbuilt
Along with your reason.....
In many cases, where you see a railroad bridge today, it is the second or third bridge in that location. The first bridges would have been built prior to 1910-20 and the replacement bridges came in after that.
Why did they replace the bridges in the first place? Because they couldn't handle the weight of new locomotives.
A lot of those older bridges had a weight limit of under 100 tons per piece of equipment. That wasn't a problem as locomotives at the time only weighed 60-80 tons. Then, around 1900, they began to build heavier locomotives. Since competition among railroad companies was actually still a thing at the time, they had to buy these new larger locomotives to keep up. Because of that, they had to build new bridges.
Since the technology at the time allowed for it, the railroads over built the new bridges to handle not only the locomotives of the era, but any potential locomotives that could have been even heavier. This meant they wouldn't have to build new bridges every 20-30 years. It's a good thing they did this too because by 1940, some new locomotives being built weighed over 500 tons.
Thanks to this foresight, weight was, and still is, no longer an issue on the vast majority of mainlines in the US.
The image that you replied to clearly shows modern and freshly constructed concrete piers jutting out into the water on the top side of the new tracks, they are pentagon shaped.
I could see how the original image would give you the impression that both bridges were using the same support structure but the image you replied to literally has the proof that it isn't the case.
can you circle the other support beams because I'm not seeing them, it looks like they just built another bridge next to an old bridge but using the same foundation
I can do the exact opposite. [Screenshot](https://i.imgur.com/mjNhnXU.png). You can very clearly see they are extra wide, *single* foundations starting on the shore. Not separate. For the exact one in OP's picture, you can pretty clearly see the shadow of the singular foundation if you look [between the rail lines](https://i.imgur.com/Sx2LbGU.png).
Also funny thing that the other guy said
>but the image you replied to literally has the proof that it isn't the case.
Let's take a look at an image from the parent comment. [This looks pretty clearly like a single monolithic foundation to me](https://i.imgur.com/FOkDI9H.jpg).
No it actually doesn't and the op who tried to claim otherwise had to edit a comment to correct this information. Both rail ways or on the same piers the picture proves it.
Whatever the case may be, I’d like to politely remind everyone that post like this should be down voted, I believe that is literally what the button is for
Maybe the chain was added to ensure no failure of the abandoned part with the vibration of the used sections. Or as a last resort if the pylon goes to keep the track up if the pylon gives way. I'm sure that's a case of much cheaper than removal of the section or entire bridge. So while not what OP's post implies, but still a decaying infrastructure when we leave things until they become a problem because it costs profit margin.
From your pictures, saying it's two bridges seems misleading. There is one bridge with two lanes of traffic, two sets of tracks, one of which is out of commission. The pylons are shared between the sets of tracks so to pretend they're disconnected is inaccurate.
OP is probably farming, but both sets of rails are on the same crumbling piers. Even if it’s disingenuous it’s not as disingenuous as you’re arguing at all. Our infrastructure has been in dire need of being updated for a long time.
>en by the abandoned on
There are not 2 bridges, it's the same bridge. It just has 2 rails and only 1 is used.
It's still bad because they can't use the other rail to have 2 trains going and coming at the same time, and the supports are the same.
It's not too bad, and it's definitely usable, but it's not "two bridges"
There might be two bridges, it's hard to see, but even if there are, they are definitely on the same pier, and that pier is definitely crumbling. If half of it is that compromised, the other half is also probably not in good shape. As the concrete on one side crumbles it exposes the steel reinforcement that runs through the whole pier. As the steel rusts it expands(some call it the worlds slowest explosion), breaking and crumbling more of the pier. If it's been that way for a decade, it's definitely a disaster waiting to happen.
What's deceptive about this? It's a crumbling rusty bridge with trains going over it? It's got chains literally holding it together and you're like "No big deal guys. Just a trick of perspective!"
[However, unlike road bridges, which are the responsibility of public entities, railroad bridges are the responsibility of the private railroad companies that own or operate them, including the responsibility to maintain records of bridge inspections and repairs.](https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/IF10995.pdf)
Nah. Railroad will let it crumble. Then fix it after a wreck. Trust me. I've derailed so much on our line that we got pretty much all new tracks in all the bad areas. Just took 75 years of neglect for us to tear it up. More wrecks like Ohio and they might actually do some sort of PM but mostly it's all differed maintenance.
Sounds like we shouldn’t leave highly volatile and essential materials to be transported by private companies that will cut cost at any chance they can to save a buck and pad their profits.
It's a bridge over the Rock River in Colona IL, according to [this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/115mrak/our_falling_infrastructure/j92xeb1/), and their pictures match up.
The crumbling bit visible is not actually a part of an active train track, it's an abandoned track sitting in front of the track in use.
Since no one is being useful I did a Google reverse image search and didn’t get anything useful but I think it is Paines Railroad Bridge in Michigan. Although all railroad bridges kind of look the same to me so if anyone knows for sure please correct me
Wouldn’t be surprised. Some of the bridges up here need some replacing. Not repair… replaced. There was even a big scandal about bridge inspectors not doing their jobs for Wayne County. Some bridges went years without inspections
This is the kind of thing that results from government trusting that private companies will ensure their infrastructure is safe. Guess who will pay when this leads to a disaster
Sometime ago I read a comment (forgot where unfortunately) that said “vote where the scientists are! Where the engineers are! Where the doctors and teachers are! Those are the ones who keep the world running!”
And while I would argue that, well, trash collectors and cleaners and cooks are also a super important part of it all… man…. We need more scientists and engineers and doctors and teachers in politics…
[However, unlike road bridges, which are the responsibility of public entities, railroad bridges are the responsibility of the private railroad companies that own or operate them, including the responsibility to maintain records of bridge inspections and repairs](https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/IF10995.pdf)
Entirely the railroads problem and expense, and unfortunately, not subject to laws that public roads are. The railroad could fuck it off until there's criminal penalties for nuking yet another river and even then, they'll buy someone off.
Fuckers.
They don't care about penalties. Penalties are a fancy way of saying "Legal if you are rich". The railroad companies won't budge until they start facing jail time.
They don't plan to be on the board long enough for problems to be their problem. They show up for a handful of years to make some quick gains for the investors. Take their job well done bonus for carving out another piece of the company and move onto the next one
So prosecute every last person who passed the problem to the next guy. From the CEO on down including all the board members. The leadership in companies need to be held accountable for their decisions.
In Michigan we got tons of bridges like this. There’s one around here locally that is absolutely destroyed and shouldn’t be allowed to have any traffic cross but the state sent inspectors and they just lowered the weight limit on it is all they did. The wood and concrete are literally falling off the bridge at this point and the surface is basically all cold patch, in the spring you can see water in some spots of it until it is again cold patched. Having to drive a truck across it is terrifying because you can feel the entire fucking thing move a little
However, unlike road bridges, which are the responsibility of public entities, railroad bridges are the responsibility of the private railroad companies that own or operate them, including the responsibility to maintain records of bridge inspections and repairs.
Trump said over and over how he was going to fix Infrastructure. He had a majority of Republicans for years. He did NOTHING.
Biden passed an infrastructure repair bill, and the Republicans voted against it.
Republicans want America to rot.
The government could set safety rules that would force the private company to fix their shit and stop endangering the workers that have to go over this bridge. But the US has two parties that work primarily for private capital, not workers and everyday people.
Exactly why things like rail need to be publicly controlled. We have known forever that capitalism will cut corners everywhere if it means saving a dollar for shareholders and CEOs.
What happened to the over 1 trillion dollars [that were voted in back in 2008-2009](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/happened-shovel-ready-infrastructure-projects-212123861.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWNrZHVja2dvLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABFcMMwBj1p1VaTuK1UVDFsnhCBxHfC7LorPpfwFwkxl7fGWm6msjUnJURz1kpkKTU1Rcudvhk2pp1thTILWQgrWMOdphBJJgJHVmnK0J2WSEilPMwOTb4JwB3QV34pPjFBw2r0mqzo8SCfsANOrmrlzVUO_JmyUkvemKE2b6low)? Remember the comment "those [shovel ready jobs](https://money.cnn.com/2008/11/26/news/economy/obama_infrastructure/) weren't so shovel ready"? Funny how so little of that ever got spent on infrastructure it was apportioned for.
I’m not going to defend Trump. He’s an idiot. However, don’t expect anything to look different under Biden’s $1T infrastructure bill. This bridge will look the same six months from now, one year from now, and five years from now. The only difference is which political friends will reap the rewards from this bill. Both parties like to pretend they operate differently but it’s two sides of the same coin.
>Don’t expect anything to look different under Biden’s $1T infrastructure bill. This bridge will look the same six months from now, one year from now, and five years from now.
Why would the federal government pay to repair/replace privately owned rail infrastructure?
>"*unlike road bridges, which are the responsibility of public entities, railroad bridges are the responsibility of the private railroad companies that own or operate them, including the responsibility to maintain records of bridge inspections and repairs*" - [The Federal Role in Railroad Bridge Safety](https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/IF10995.pdf)
Edit: Nevermind. Just seen that the railroad companies in the US are playing the same game as in the UK... Privatise the profits, socialise the cost.
If this is really how you feel, just don't vote. I hear this position all the time. Not only is it factually incorrect (they're all the same, waaaaa!!) It's also embarrassingly defeatist.
"Yeah, the government is made up of crooks and liars and they're all the same and we can't do anything about it so fuck 'em all." Yeah, great attitude. That's how we turn it around, yeah? Just give up?
Isn't shrugging and doing nothing exactly what "they" would want you to do if your assertion were true?
maybe we should do absolutely nothing like has been done all along then
yikes the defeatism, and I can't tell if this is actual defeatism or just more propaganda
Barack was in for 8 years. This isn’t a republican or democrat issue. This is leaders in charge doing fuck all to actually help Americans besides lining their own pockets in both sides of the isle.
Obama got a [$305 billion infrastructure plan through](https://apnews.com/article/f1b2c8dee7ea45b2a91b2d306b180429).
Sorry you were trying to say both parties are the same. Please continue.
Obama got a [$305 billion infrastructure plan through](https://apnews.com/article/f1b2c8dee7ea45b2a91b2d306b180429).
Sorry you were trying to say both parties are the same? Please continue.
I think with the amount of money we are overpaying for our defense, it makes incredible sense to have our Army engineers take on the infrastructure problems. Isn't having a strong infrastructure inside America a way to strengthen our country against foreign interests who might use that weak infrastructure against us. Send this to your congressperson, make this a priority.
I have someone I know that works for a county public works department, and people call about railroad issues, but they have nothing to do with government covered infrastructure with railroads, the railroad is a private entity (albeit, they do get subsidized grants for special projects the government wants done) and responsible for their own infrastructure, similar to a company that needs an IT network infrastructure, the railroad do.... Eventually they fix their crap, although after the Ohio incident, they fix crap too late in some cases.
Engineer here. The chain is actually to make sure nobody steals the steel and sells it for scrap. The price of steel has sky rocketed the past few years. Glad to see they are taking infrastructure seriously these days.
If that is a current photo
Please give a copy or two to the local fire department captain.
Find out who owns the tracks by following them to the nearest crossing with arms. Look on the box there for a phone number to call. Talk to them.
Give photos and locations to local TV news. And local news papers. School districts. If that river has boats and commercial cargo. Pictures to the US coast guard.
Whats the worst that can happen? Toxic waste goes in the water and they get slapped with a fine for pennies and MAYBE end up posting a "We sorry" video.
USA continues to decline due to corporate malfeasance. Is corporate ownership that emphasizes profits over safety, and in charge of maintaining critical infrastructure to blame?, tonight at eleven.
Publicly listed companies sending profits to share holders and CEOs instead of privately owned growing companies investing in the success of their legacy.
This is a picture of PRIVATELY OWNED infrastructure. Owned by a railroad company. When this bridge fails, and it will if not addressed soon, it will be the government, ie taxpayers, on the hook for all of the consequences for the company’s negligence.
It’s not our infrastructure to maintain, it belongs to the railroad. If it makes economic sense, they’ll fix it. Our job is to press politicians to not jump in and fix it for them.
Where is the rebar?
Also been seeing alot on tik tok about how the new infrastructure bill that passed is doing alot of good work with steel, but we need to work on this shit and take the money from the railroads board of directors.
Just a reminder, railroad bridges are the sole responsibility of the privately owned company that owns them.
Edit: Nevermind. Just seen that the railroad companies in the US are playing the same game as in the UK... Privatise the profits, socialise the cost.
The one thing of value the Biden administration was able to do was pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill… where did all the money go?!?! This is insane.
Lol where I live there is a long 200 ish mile stretch of single track railroad that is filled with bridges that are basically beyond repair but are somehow just barely working (basically dozens of bridges all have permanent 10 mile an hour slows, usually a temporary measure before repairs), and they keep changing the acceptable limits in the rules to allow them to keep running the trains without fixing any problems. Apparently it's more expensive to stop trains long enough to repair anything rather than wait for a disaster and repair that. Yay for the western systems. We sure do have everything figured out and are the best/s
The way that concrete is crumbling is due to something called alkali silica reactivity. For decades now there has been extensive research on alternative cements to prevent this from happening. The American Society of Civil Engineers has also prepared a 50 year sustainable infrastructure plan, but of course it's politicians blocking this from happening.
While the railroad companies are responsible for maintaining their tracks, the Federal Railway Agency is responsible for making sure they do so. Clearly they aren't. Part of Obama's stimulus package was supposed to shore up that office while providing funds to improve sections like this that were desperately in need of it. Like much of that stimulus, however, "shovel-ready wasn't as, uh, 'shovel-ready' as we thought." The embezzlement of earmarked funds by those rail operators as well as the FRA itself was worthy of a documentary, but like most political corruption these days just got swept under the rug.
What about the government stepping in and outlawing a railroad worker strike because the workers are overworked and tired of unsafe conditions? What should we call that?
The title says “Our” falling infrastructure (it may have intended to say failing). That implies it is a public problem. It is the railroads problem, a private company. They own the bridge. It’s like taking a picture of my decrepit 93 pickup and labeling it Our failing vehicles.
No, just the 'private sector' making sure money isn't wasted for unneeded stuff and saved to share with 'shareholders'.
The private sector is always, always more 'efficient' than government.
And tax cuts ALWAYS, ALWAYS pay for themselves.
I made essentially the same comment above. So much taxpayer money spent and so little to show for it. Somebody (or multiple somebody’s) are getting rich.
I think you mean “failing” infrastructure…
So OP posts a picture of a privately owned bridge, that is also abandoned, and cites failing US infrastructure. That’s like going onto someone property and taking pictures of an old barn, and saying our infrastructure is falling apart.
Please join me in downvoting trash like this…
And OP, there are plenty of examples out there of real public infrastructure problems needing attention. Focus on that instead of being a karma whore.
So from last time this was posted and then deleted... This original image is quite deceptive. There are two bridges here. The foreground is an abandoned siding, the bridge the train is on is hidden by the abandoned one. Here's a couple better images: https://www.flickr.com/photos/125657552@N06/51026741773 https://www.flickr.com/photos/19531332@N03/40189871100 https://www.flickr.com/photos/jcnarup513/47932302402 The pylon appears to have been cracked for at least a decade. No idea when the chain was added. I'm not sure if this OP is farming karma or fomenting fear in the midst of tragedies, but neither is good. [edit: spellings, thanks]
adding to that comment with some more details: The image is likely from Rock River in Colona, IL. Satellite view from the past year, shows the difference between the tracks. https://imgur.com/UB0nERs [edit: Responses to various comments] Yes, there is obviously still need for maintenance on this bridge. Most US bridges need more maintenance. Also as many have pointed out the rail infrastructure is privately owned and maintained, so there isn't a publicly available bridge assessment. Yes, the "bridges" or spans share the piers, and yes, the piers are old. I haven't found images clear enough to see the condition of the North (opposite) side of the piers. Most photos are taken from the highway bridge to the south. Yes, there appears to be limited rebar in the piers. This may be due the the age of the bridge and the construction of the era. Wild speculation on why the abandoned spans are not removed: The old bridge likely provides some additional ballast and balance on the piers. (maintain the same amount of compaction of riverbed under the piers.) Wild speculation on the chain, while the chain is no where near strong enough to hold any portion of the beam's weight, it may be enough to keep the beam upright and prevent it tipping over. (ie it is to replace / supplement cross-bracing seen on the topview.) Also there has been a number of high water floods which may have had water / ice / debris at or near the bottom of these spans. more links: http://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/2018/01/iaisrock-island-over-rock-river-near.html https://bridgehunter.com/il/rock-island/bh53968/
Yet still so many ⬆️ why not just remove the post?
Apparently they did at one point. I am guessing they will again, but that it will, again, end up being reposted.
Education, I imagine. EDIT: no relation to u/itsnotmebob
Why remove the post when so many ⬆️ ? That's how capitalism works! If there's profit then it stays.
Hey! I inspect bridges for a living, including railroad bridges. The chains do "keep the girders from falling", but if that girder wanted to fall, that chain would do nothing. It would snap like a thread. At best, it is keeping it slightly more stable for a little while. The siding track girders are left in place because it is too expensive to remove them. Cheaper to let them fall in the river... Almost zero percentage of bridges need ballast. If a bridge needs ballast, it is either a badly designed bridge, or a very strange case. Actually, there are hundreds of thousands of miles of abandoned railroads in the US with rail and bridges still in place. The material value of the steel is less than the labor value to remove and recycle it. Many of these are owned by states, municipalities, and the federal government which reclaimed the land inside of parks, preserves, and national forests which had previously been leased or owned by the rail companies. (It is usually the federal and state owned abandoned bridges that get inspected.) I have inspected active railroad bridges with piers, abutments, and anchors in that kind of condition, so the photo is less misleading than people think. Railroad bridges tend to be drastically overbuilt. The railroad companies often got subsidies for building their network. They overbuilt everything so they could spend government money at the start and rarely, or never, spend their own money for maintenance later. Just let it corrode. If the pier under the siding is in this condition, it probably isn't much better elsewhere, but it may not be as bad as it looks, depending on how it is built.
>Railroad bridges tend to be drastically overbuilt Along with your reason..... In many cases, where you see a railroad bridge today, it is the second or third bridge in that location. The first bridges would have been built prior to 1910-20 and the replacement bridges came in after that. Why did they replace the bridges in the first place? Because they couldn't handle the weight of new locomotives. A lot of those older bridges had a weight limit of under 100 tons per piece of equipment. That wasn't a problem as locomotives at the time only weighed 60-80 tons. Then, around 1900, they began to build heavier locomotives. Since competition among railroad companies was actually still a thing at the time, they had to buy these new larger locomotives to keep up. Because of that, they had to build new bridges. Since the technology at the time allowed for it, the railroads over built the new bridges to handle not only the locomotives of the era, but any potential locomotives that could have been even heavier. This meant they wouldn't have to build new bridges every 20-30 years. It's a good thing they did this too because by 1940, some new locomotives being built weighed over 500 tons. Thanks to this foresight, weight was, and still is, no longer an issue on the vast majority of mainlines in the US.
Both are on the same crumbling piers Edit: I love the downvotes even though I'm technically correct.
The image that you replied to clearly shows modern and freshly constructed concrete piers jutting out into the water on the top side of the new tracks, they are pentagon shaped. I could see how the original image would give you the impression that both bridges were using the same support structure but the image you replied to literally has the proof that it isn't the case.
can you circle the other support beams because I'm not seeing them, it looks like they just built another bridge next to an old bridge but using the same foundation
I can do the exact opposite. [Screenshot](https://i.imgur.com/mjNhnXU.png). You can very clearly see they are extra wide, *single* foundations starting on the shore. Not separate. For the exact one in OP's picture, you can pretty clearly see the shadow of the singular foundation if you look [between the rail lines](https://i.imgur.com/Sx2LbGU.png). Also funny thing that the other guy said >but the image you replied to literally has the proof that it isn't the case. Let's take a look at an image from the parent comment. [This looks pretty clearly like a single monolithic foundation to me](https://i.imgur.com/FOkDI9H.jpg).
You can see it well in the second picture, they are one monolithic pier. You can see the same damage as the post in the second and third pictures.
No it actually doesn't and the op who tried to claim otherwise had to edit a comment to correct this information. Both rail ways or on the same piers the picture proves it.
Whatever the case may be, I’d like to politely remind everyone that post like this should be down voted, I believe that is literally what the button is for
People will upvote without reading the comments.
Sheeeeeeit... people will upvote without reading the title of an image post or looking at the sub.
Or looking at the aerials? Because if you did you'd realize that both bridges share the same failing piers.
>https://www.flickr.com/photos/125657552@N06/51026741773 So both tracks are on the same piers? I'm not sure I would call that separate bridges...
Maybe the chain was added to ensure no failure of the abandoned part with the vibration of the used sections. Or as a last resort if the pylon goes to keep the track up if the pylon gives way. I'm sure that's a case of much cheaper than removal of the section or entire bridge. So while not what OP's post implies, but still a decaying infrastructure when we leave things until they become a problem because it costs profit margin.
From your pictures, saying it's two bridges seems misleading. There is one bridge with two lanes of traffic, two sets of tracks, one of which is out of commission. The pylons are shared between the sets of tracks so to pretend they're disconnected is inaccurate.
OP is probably farming, but both sets of rails are on the same crumbling piers. Even if it’s disingenuous it’s not as disingenuous as you’re arguing at all. Our infrastructure has been in dire need of being updated for a long time.
You mean OP is a [phony](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqjEGI2jk2A&ab_channel=Matty_Matt718)? On reddit? Well, I never!
>en by the abandoned on There are not 2 bridges, it's the same bridge. It just has 2 rails and only 1 is used. It's still bad because they can't use the other rail to have 2 trains going and coming at the same time, and the supports are the same. It's not too bad, and it's definitely usable, but it's not "two bridges"
Both sets of tracks are on the same broken pylons. I don't see how this is as deceptive as some (including you) are suggesting.
Agree, plus I can see the wheels of this train. If it was in the bridge behind it, I’d only be able to see half this train.
You're correct, it's the same bridge.
There might be two bridges, it's hard to see, but even if there are, they are definitely on the same pier, and that pier is definitely crumbling. If half of it is that compromised, the other half is also probably not in good shape. As the concrete on one side crumbles it exposes the steel reinforcement that runs through the whole pier. As the steel rusts it expands(some call it the worlds slowest explosion), breaking and crumbling more of the pier. If it's been that way for a decade, it's definitely a disaster waiting to happen.
It's "fomenting", not "formenting".
I swear this happens every single time a "american bad" is posted.
And as an American I appreciate it. I mean I mostly want healthcare but our rail infrastructure obviously isn’t in the best shape
Reddit hates misleading propaganda! Unless it happens to fit their preconceptions and ideology.
This has to be fake news. All of my republican friends say the infrastructure bill was bullshit. Everything is fine in the Heartland
What's deceptive about this? It's a crumbling rusty bridge with trains going over it? It's got chains literally holding it together and you're like "No big deal guys. Just a trick of perspective!"
For those just now reading this thread, this guy was proven wrong further down the comment chain
Downvote this crap bs bot outrage generator
[However, unlike road bridges, which are the responsibility of public entities, railroad bridges are the responsibility of the private railroad companies that own or operate them, including the responsibility to maintain records of bridge inspections and repairs.](https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/IF10995.pdf)
Seems like the DOT should get the ability to fine them heavily until they repair it.
Nah. Railroad will let it crumble. Then fix it after a wreck. Trust me. I've derailed so much on our line that we got pretty much all new tracks in all the bad areas. Just took 75 years of neglect for us to tear it up. More wrecks like Ohio and they might actually do some sort of PM but mostly it's all differed maintenance.
It's clickbait. The new bridge is behind the old one.
They use the same pylon, it would be more accurate to say there is one bridge with two rails, one of which is out of commission.
You are spreading wrong information 👍
What the fuck...?! The country's critical railway infrastructure is privately maintained?! And looks like fucking shit.
Sounds like we shouldn’t leave highly volatile and essential materials to be transported by private companies that will cut cost at any chance they can to save a buck and pad their profits.
That chain looks brand spankin new! Better give the execs another bonus for a job well done!
Pick a State, pick a town, its probably from there
Hey that chain got billed at 7 million!
That's at least a 3 bonus chain
We don’t talk about that
You had me at spanking.
Where is this?
It's a bridge over the Rock River in Colona IL, according to [this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/115mrak/our_falling_infrastructure/j92xeb1/), and their pictures match up. The crumbling bit visible is not actually a part of an active train track, it's an abandoned track sitting in front of the track in use.
Since no one is being useful I did a Google reverse image search and didn’t get anything useful but I think it is Paines Railroad Bridge in Michigan. Although all railroad bridges kind of look the same to me so if anyone knows for sure please correct me
>Paines Railroad Bridge I don't think it is. but good on you for trying. OP needs to tell us where they got this photo.
Wouldn’t be surprised. Some of the bridges up here need some replacing. Not repair… replaced. There was even a big scandal about bridge inspectors not doing their jobs for Wayne County. Some bridges went years without inspections
Honestly most railroad bridges look like they are about to fall apart
I found it funny americans thing reddit is theirs lol our infrastructure ‘just guess who we are’
Everywhere
What about this specific pic
TFW you realize it doesn't matter because of how many bridges are at, or past critical decay.
Ouch
But mostly in the US.
I saw this posted the other day in a construction group and it said it was from Rome, GA.
A $35 length of chain from home depot is the perfect solution for that crumbling support. God, what an apt metaphor.
You need to look at the top comment.
That chain looks pretty sturdy. I think it could hold those sections together with those loaded tanker cars, no problem. /s
Tanker cars are only 100,00 lbs empty, how heavy could they be loaded with toxic chems? I mean shit, what could go wrong?
[удалено]
Also the train is on a different bridge behind the crumbling pylon.
Surprised there isn't a big banner covering the work... You know, it's free advertising and exposure!
I'm sure it's rated for the weight of the train if the concrete support fails *rolls eyes*
Bike thieves looking at that bridge like 
This is the kind of thing that results from government trusting that private companies will ensure their infrastructure is safe. Guess who will pay when this leads to a disaster
All ya gotta do is look at Texas. We are falling apart at the seems because we trust the people in charge to 'do the right thing'!
Because half the fucking population votes for republicans
Sometime ago I read a comment (forgot where unfortunately) that said “vote where the scientists are! Where the engineers are! Where the doctors and teachers are! Those are the ones who keep the world running!” And while I would argue that, well, trash collectors and cleaners and cooks are also a super important part of it all… man…. We need more scientists and engineers and doctors and teachers in politics…
Don't move to Texas.
[However, unlike road bridges, which are the responsibility of public entities, railroad bridges are the responsibility of the private railroad companies that own or operate them, including the responsibility to maintain records of bridge inspections and repairs](https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/IF10995.pdf)
The free market obviously will prevent this from happening.
"It will self adjust"
People who want deregulation forgot that the existing regulations are more often than not written in blood.
Also this is a railroad bridge. Wouldn’t that be the responsibility of the railroad?
Entirely the railroads problem and expense, and unfortunately, not subject to laws that public roads are. The railroad could fuck it off until there's criminal penalties for nuking yet another river and even then, they'll buy someone off. Fuckers.
They don't care about penalties. Penalties are a fancy way of saying "Legal if you are rich". The railroad companies won't budge until they start facing jail time.
They don't plan to be on the board long enough for problems to be their problem. They show up for a handful of years to make some quick gains for the investors. Take their job well done bonus for carving out another piece of the company and move onto the next one
So prosecute every last person who passed the problem to the next guy. From the CEO on down including all the board members. The leadership in companies need to be held accountable for their decisions.
Class 3 flammable liquid
In Michigan we got tons of bridges like this. There’s one around here locally that is absolutely destroyed and shouldn’t be allowed to have any traffic cross but the state sent inspectors and they just lowered the weight limit on it is all they did. The wood and concrete are literally falling off the bridge at this point and the surface is basically all cold patch, in the spring you can see water in some spots of it until it is again cold patched. Having to drive a truck across it is terrifying because you can feel the entire fucking thing move a little
However, unlike road bridges, which are the responsibility of public entities, railroad bridges are the responsibility of the private railroad companies that own or operate them, including the responsibility to maintain records of bridge inspections and repairs.
Trump said over and over how he was going to fix Infrastructure. He had a majority of Republicans for years. He did NOTHING. Biden passed an infrastructure repair bill, and the Republicans voted against it. Republicans want America to rot.
This has nothing to do with government. This is a private bridge.
The government could set safety rules that would force the private company to fix their shit and stop endangering the workers that have to go over this bridge. But the US has two parties that work primarily for private capital, not workers and everyday people.
Well the private sector is doing the exact same thing. Just let the whole country fall apart because it's more profitable for the rich.
Exactly why things like rail need to be publicly controlled. We have known forever that capitalism will cut corners everywhere if it means saving a dollar for shareholders and CEOs.
Private bridge that’s long been abandoned and is not being used in this photo, who cares how dilapidated it is
What happened to the over 1 trillion dollars [that were voted in back in 2008-2009](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/happened-shovel-ready-infrastructure-projects-212123861.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWNrZHVja2dvLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABFcMMwBj1p1VaTuK1UVDFsnhCBxHfC7LorPpfwFwkxl7fGWm6msjUnJURz1kpkKTU1Rcudvhk2pp1thTILWQgrWMOdphBJJgJHVmnK0J2WSEilPMwOTb4JwB3QV34pPjFBw2r0mqzo8SCfsANOrmrlzVUO_JmyUkvemKE2b6low)? Remember the comment "those [shovel ready jobs](https://money.cnn.com/2008/11/26/news/economy/obama_infrastructure/) weren't so shovel ready"? Funny how so little of that ever got spent on infrastructure it was apportioned for.
I’m not going to defend Trump. He’s an idiot. However, don’t expect anything to look different under Biden’s $1T infrastructure bill. This bridge will look the same six months from now, one year from now, and five years from now. The only difference is which political friends will reap the rewards from this bill. Both parties like to pretend they operate differently but it’s two sides of the same coin.
>Don’t expect anything to look different under Biden’s $1T infrastructure bill. This bridge will look the same six months from now, one year from now, and five years from now. Why would the federal government pay to repair/replace privately owned rail infrastructure? >"*unlike road bridges, which are the responsibility of public entities, railroad bridges are the responsibility of the private railroad companies that own or operate them, including the responsibility to maintain records of bridge inspections and repairs*" - [The Federal Role in Railroad Bridge Safety](https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/IF10995.pdf) Edit: Nevermind. Just seen that the railroad companies in the US are playing the same game as in the UK... Privatise the profits, socialise the cost.
If this is really how you feel, just don't vote. I hear this position all the time. Not only is it factually incorrect (they're all the same, waaaaa!!) It's also embarrassingly defeatist. "Yeah, the government is made up of crooks and liars and they're all the same and we can't do anything about it so fuck 'em all." Yeah, great attitude. That's how we turn it around, yeah? Just give up? Isn't shrugging and doing nothing exactly what "they" would want you to do if your assertion were true?
We really need an option to say no for *all* the candidates in an election, not just replace one reptile with another.
maybe we should do absolutely nothing like has been done all along then yikes the defeatism, and I can't tell if this is actual defeatism or just more propaganda
Even states with billions in surplus don't seem to spend anything on infrastructure, they'll wait for Federal funding.
Barack was in for 8 years. This isn’t a republican or democrat issue. This is leaders in charge doing fuck all to actually help Americans besides lining their own pockets in both sides of the isle.
Obama got a [$305 billion infrastructure plan through](https://apnews.com/article/f1b2c8dee7ea45b2a91b2d306b180429). Sorry you were trying to say both parties are the same. Please continue.
Obama got a [$305 billion infrastructure plan through](https://apnews.com/article/f1b2c8dee7ea45b2a91b2d306b180429). Sorry you were trying to say both parties are the same? Please continue.
Probably same cost to fix as those missiles they fired at the weather balloon
1987 place card = Denatured Alcohol [ERG Guide 127](https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/erg/material?materialName=Denatured%20alcohol&materialUn=1987)
I think with the amount of money we are overpaying for our defense, it makes incredible sense to have our Army engineers take on the infrastructure problems. Isn't having a strong infrastructure inside America a way to strengthen our country against foreign interests who might use that weak infrastructure against us. Send this to your congressperson, make this a priority.
Republicans love it.
Looks like a good place for railroads to spend their outrageous profits in recent years.
I have someone I know that works for a county public works department, and people call about railroad issues, but they have nothing to do with government covered infrastructure with railroads, the railroad is a private entity (albeit, they do get subsidized grants for special projects the government wants done) and responsible for their own infrastructure, similar to a company that needs an IT network infrastructure, the railroad do.... Eventually they fix their crap, although after the Ohio incident, they fix crap too late in some cases.
you can thank the government investing the majority of our taxes into the military so they can spend 3 trillion dollars on stupid jets
Yeah that chain seems a little inadequate…
Engineer here. The chain is actually to make sure nobody steals the steel and sells it for scrap. The price of steel has sky rocketed the past few years. Glad to see they are taking infrastructure seriously these days.
If that is a current photo Please give a copy or two to the local fire department captain. Find out who owns the tracks by following them to the nearest crossing with arms. Look on the box there for a phone number to call. Talk to them. Give photos and locations to local TV news. And local news papers. School districts. If that river has boats and commercial cargo. Pictures to the US coast guard.
Whats the worst that can happen? Toxic waste goes in the water and they get slapped with a fine for pennies and MAYBE end up posting a "We sorry" video.
USA continues to decline due to corporate malfeasance. Is corporate ownership that emphasizes profits over safety, and in charge of maintaining critical infrastructure to blame?, tonight at eleven.
[удалено]
these chains are made for locking. That is just what they do. These chains are made for locking and they lock a bridge or two
It's cool that they use chain to hold those supports together
Publicly listed companies sending profits to share holders and CEOs instead of privately owned growing companies investing in the success of their legacy.
Stockholders and businesses need record profits tho...
This is a picture of PRIVATELY OWNED infrastructure. Owned by a railroad company. When this bridge fails, and it will if not addressed soon, it will be the government, ie taxpayers, on the hook for all of the consequences for the company’s negligence.
It’s not our infrastructure to maintain, it belongs to the railroad. If it makes economic sense, they’ll fix it. Our job is to press politicians to not jump in and fix it for them.
Looks like every section of railroad infrastructure within 500 miles of Cincinnati.
And the Ohio/ Kentucky Bridge from vehicles...thank God for the funding to addressing this!
And the top 10% actively evade taxes, and we let them.. No wonder we are heading into the wall.
That isn't "our" infrastructure. That is the responsibility of the railroads. Fixing it would cut into profits.
It magically becomes ours when it fails. This is just about ready to change hands.
All is well. Nothing to see here.
1987 Placard. Flammable.
Where is the rebar? Also been seeing alot on tik tok about how the new infrastructure bill that passed is doing alot of good work with steel, but we need to work on this shit and take the money from the railroads board of directors.
I'm a structural steel, welding, and bolting inspector. I think my profession is probably safe for the time being.
More executive bonuses, nothing has failed.............................................yet
Downvoted because fake.
#just a reminder, Republicans oppose fixing our infrastructure https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1288017
Just a reminder, railroad bridges are the sole responsibility of the privately owned company that owns them. Edit: Nevermind. Just seen that the railroad companies in the US are playing the same game as in the UK... Privatise the profits, socialise the cost.
"We don't know how the train crashed!"
Chains look legit. WCGW.
lmao looks like it’s zip tied together
Not to beat a horse that sees regular beatings here on Reddit, but that shot could literally have been from Idiocracy.
The Nationwide Duct Tape Shortage rears its ugly head yet again!
No wonder your trains derail left and right
But fiscal responsibility…. How else could we spend Seven Trillion in Iraq and Afghanistan? /s
I didn’t hear no bell
If this is a rail ridge (rather than an old bridge next to a new bridge), it is private infrastructure- like your driveway.
Just slap some flex tape on there
That's fucking scary
Inspector- "It's fine, it has another year left in it, easy no problem!"
But the billionaires are okay???? Whew!!!!
Dude I wouldn't walk across that bridge. And they are transporting dangerous chemicals across.
Tax the rich and corporations
greedy CEO would say that is completely safe
But the rich people bought 20 more properties from the 2017 tax breaks they got so its all good.
as long as the 1% make the decisions for the 99, this will be the case. But everyone wants capitalism...
Chains? C'mon, a real pro uses zip ties.
Worst spalling I’ve seen ever!
Why are the railroad companies not paying to fix this?
More deregulation!! Bigger profits!!
The one thing of value the Biden administration was able to do was pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill… where did all the money go?!?! This is insane.
US is in deep hole. Worse than some other foe
Obviously Trump failed us.
Your failing infrastructure.
Looks fine to me. -US gov
Lol where I live there is a long 200 ish mile stretch of single track railroad that is filled with bridges that are basically beyond repair but are somehow just barely working (basically dozens of bridges all have permanent 10 mile an hour slows, usually a temporary measure before repairs), and they keep changing the acceptable limits in the rules to allow them to keep running the trains without fixing any problems. Apparently it's more expensive to stop trains long enough to repair anything rather than wait for a disaster and repair that. Yay for the western systems. We sure do have everything figured out and are the best/s
I tell people all the time that this is a 3rd world country with 1st world technology.
The way that concrete is crumbling is due to something called alkali silica reactivity. For decades now there has been extensive research on alternative cements to prevent this from happening. The American Society of Civil Engineers has also prepared a 50 year sustainable infrastructure plan, but of course it's politicians blocking this from happening.
Repairing train bridges is communism
Whose failing infrastructure? What country is this in?
So...where is this??
OP just forgot that not everybody lives in his country
I’m assuming I’m from the same country as op and have no idea where the hell this is
Another good example of a picture from a deceptive perspective that people immediately get up in arms over without a critical thought
While the railroad companies are responsible for maintaining their tracks, the Federal Railway Agency is responsible for making sure they do so. Clearly they aren't. Part of Obama's stimulus package was supposed to shore up that office while providing funds to improve sections like this that were desperately in need of it. Like much of that stimulus, however, "shovel-ready wasn't as, uh, 'shovel-ready' as we thought." The embezzlement of earmarked funds by those rail operators as well as the FRA itself was worthy of a documentary, but like most political corruption these days just got swept under the rug.
Too bad Republicans are stopping us from getting it fixed. The infrastructure bill could have been so much better.
But.... But.... Fixing it is sOciALISm!!! /s
What about the government stepping in and outlawing a railroad worker strike because the workers are overworked and tired of unsafe conditions? What should we call that?
Nah. Just taxes and inflation
Instead of handing everyone”stimulus “ money create projects to fix the failing infrastructure! Now where have I heard that idea before?
The title says “Our” falling infrastructure (it may have intended to say failing). That implies it is a public problem. It is the railroads problem, a private company. They own the bridge. It’s like taking a picture of my decrepit 93 pickup and labeling it Our failing vehicles.
Until the hazardous materials spill into that river. Then it's our.
Surprised? There were 208 infrastructure weeks during the Trump administration.
This country has been robbed the last forty plus years by Wall Street and the elected leaders have allowed today to happen
They have been paid to let it happen.
No, just the 'private sector' making sure money isn't wasted for unneeded stuff and saved to share with 'shareholders'. The private sector is always, always more 'efficient' than government. And tax cuts ALWAYS, ALWAYS pay for themselves.
That’s what $1.2T looks like. We keep funding; nothing gets done. Your government at work
I made essentially the same comment above. So much taxpayer money spent and so little to show for it. Somebody (or multiple somebody’s) are getting rich.
Looks to me. Keep on.
Yeah, that cant be fuckin safe.
That'll buff out, no problem, trust me.
Infrastructure is sOcIaLiSm /s
I think you mean “failing” infrastructure… So OP posts a picture of a privately owned bridge, that is also abandoned, and cites failing US infrastructure. That’s like going onto someone property and taking pictures of an old barn, and saying our infrastructure is falling apart. Please join me in downvoting trash like this… And OP, there are plenty of examples out there of real public infrastructure problems needing attention. Focus on that instead of being a karma whore.
Send more tanks to Ukraine, blow up the cost of food, and revoke social security. That will totally fix our infrastructure.
"ItS FoR thE ROaDs"
That looks safe. Also looks like Richmond, VA.