🚀 go-pugleaf

dr. carasso (carasso@Inference.COM) wrote:

: My point is that I believe
: that as a private citizen I would be unable to find out which freeway
: structures are unreinforced, as it would embarrass Caltrans, and
: rightfully scare half the city that they're riding on dinosaurs that
: could collapse on them at anytime.

I can't speak for the southland, since I don't live there and don't pay
terribly much attention to the reports about roads there (aside from
marking up an old Rand McNally map with the freeways that were closed
the day of the quake).  However, here in the San Francisco Bay Area,
we've heard news reports giving a fair amount of detail about which
freeways are high and medium and low priorities for retrofitting.
CalTrans is not hiding the information at all.  I haven't seen a
bridge-by-bridge analysis, but the information is there in public
records.  Details about the problems with retrofitting the Bay Bridge
have been made very public.  Ditto the Golden Gate Bridge, 101,  and
280.

Contrary to your impression, CalTrans has been very forthright about the
need for retrofitting and the costs as they see them.

As for requiring seismic upgrades to hospitals, you can't just snap your
fingers and have every hospital retrofitted.  It takes time and money.
There are requirements in place that any major renovation must include
bringing affected sections of the building up to code.  The reality of
the situation is that you have to balance your desire to have every
hospital instantly upgraded to the newest code against the practical
constraints of real life.

-- Linc Madison  *  Oakland, California  *  LincMad@Netcom.com