Deanna Martin, writing for the Associated Press, has an article on stimulus money being spent on Indiana’s bridges. Apparently a relatively small percentage of those bridges in need are slated to be repaired with stimulus money. The problem was the “shovel ready” requirement. Apparently a lot of the bridges in need of repair didn’t have plans ready to go. So, only one in four made the cut. Instead, some of the money is going to things like road paving projects which were ready to go, but probably aren’t as necessary as the bridge repair. The Indiana Department of Transportation seems to suggest that this isn’t a big deal because money spent now on one project probably frees up money later for things like crumbling bridges.
You didn’t seriously think any of that money would be spent “diligently” did you?
Some counties have their bridges on an inventory, complete with a schedule for repairs slated. Hamilton County does this, to the credit of the Commissioners and the Highway Dept. Not all Indiana counties do this, so while to find bridges in need of repair is easy, but to whip up plans on command surely caught many off guard.