Friday Funny: Crumbling Infrastructure Likely Means 'Something'

This article from The Onion looks back at the infrastructure problems that defined 2007, asking what they signify for the country.

1 minute read

December 21, 2007, 2:00 PM PST

By Nate Berg


"The tragic Minneapolis bridge collapse that left 13 dead this August brought national attention to the country's crumbling infrastructure, forcing many to question whether the nation's rapidly deteriorating roads, contaminated drinking water and groundwater, and run-down schools could perhaps be a metaphor for something."

"'Everywhere you turn you see improperly maintained railways, structurally deficient bridges-not to mention billions of gallons of untreated sewage flowing directly into our groundwater,' said Adam Perry, a representative for the ASCE. 'Is there an underlying message here? There are so many layers, and each one is so subtle and nuanced, that I'm hesitant to make any kind of blanket statement about what this means 'for America.''"

"With more than 350,000 contaminated industrial sites requiring cleanup and more than 50 percent of the nation's inland commercial waterways unusable, the ASCE and Congress launched a joint initiative last March to determine if the dilapidated infrastructure is a metaphor for some bigger, unknown issue or, alternatively, an allegory of something possibly having to do with the future or the nature of Fate."

Thursday, December 20, 2007 in The Onion

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

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