In a May 2012 article on the National Society of Professional Engineers’ website, www.nspe.com, the author asks the question, “When taxpayers drive the same roads day-in and day-out, turn on the faucet for automatic water, and flip a switch for light, it gets easier to take for granted the infrastructure making those amenities possible. Why spend tax money when there’s no problem apparent to a public that lacks infrastructure engineering knowledge and perspective?”
In that question, there is a quick phrase that seems to stand out over the rest; “take for granted.”
When it comes to our infrastructure, whether it is the interstate system, the water and storm sewer lines below the street or the power grid, we take it all for granted that it will work perfectly and last forever.
When you turn on your faucet at home, you expect water to come out. When you drive down the road, you expect the traffic signals to work and the road beneath your tires to be smooth and level.
But, the dramatic photos from the Waste Management garbage truck, carrying an estimated 9 tons of household garbage, partially submerged in a sinkhole on Speed Street Tuesday brought to life a real problem, a real concern.
Aside from the irony of this massive truck being slammed to a halt, trapped in a hole on a street so aptly named Speed Street, is the fact this incident is something that could happen again, and has happened before. It is nothing new and, given the age of some of the area’s infrastructure is something that will very likely happen again.
For years, we have bemoaned the condition of our highway system. We have said state and federal agencies must find ways to stay ahead of what is an aging system.
But, the reality is there are no longer the massive amounts of highway funds to not only upgrade and improve our system, but to even apply some much needed and basic maintenance.
A perfect example would be the problems with the striping and other markings along the frontage roads in Vicksburg.
It has come to the point where this problem can no longer be ignored. And, we are not saying that it is our elected officials and state and federal leaders who have ignored the problem, it is the general public.
To each person, a decision will have to make on whether or not to support increases to the gasoline tax or adopt usage and mileage taxes.
No one likes higher taxes, but the antiquated tax structures of the past simply are not enough to meet the demands of a crumbling system.
We are so thankful those on the Waste Management truck were not injured Tuesday, but they easily could have been, and the gas line and water line just beneath the truck’s tires easily could have ruptured. What would we have had then?
These problems, although out of sight, no longer need to be out of mind. It’s time we started addressing these problems and addressing them soon.