Bridges in Bucks and MontCo Crumbling

Tea Party to bridges: Let them eat cake.

Officials in Bucks and Montgomery counties gathered at the Sellersville fire department yesterday to draw attention to the dereliction of its bridges and urge legislators to pass a long delayed transportation package.

The $2.5 billion transportation bill would provide money for Pennsylvania’s ailing infrastructure and has languished in the House since the beginning of the term after being swiftly passed by the Senate 45-5. House Republicans in the Tea Party faction have fought against funding for SEPTA.

Right now, 130 state-owned bridges in Bucks County are structurally deficient. In Montgomery County, 111 bridges are structurally deficient. Although safe to drive on, structurally deficient bridges have some deterioration.

Bucks has 183 functionally obsolete state bridges, and Montgomery County 167. The functionally obsolete status indicates a bridge has older features, such as a narrower road width or lower weight limit than current standards.

“We’re dealing with an aging, aging infrastructure,” Martin said.

To sum up today’s dispatches from dystopia: Schools are making kids physically sick, an Instagram account was being used to efficiently coordinate the murders of Philadelphians, our paper of record played mouthpiece to the biggest corporation in the city and our bridges are falling down because people in Harrisburg think that road money is welfare. This is the last post of the afternoon, and I hope you all have a nice day. [Morning Call]