Gephryophobia

[Flixy]

No, I have more 'faith' in the experts who've routinely warned about sub-standard infrastructure, roadway/highway/bridge/overpass risks and failures, than any agency (public or private) trying to deny them.

I.e. you trust experts who agree with your gut feeling? Because generally speaking said agencies, public or private, also have experts. And while independent experts are sometimes correct, they aren't always - but keep in mind that an 'expert' claiming you are in danger in some way, or to dispute what agencies say, works better on TV. It's not exactly uncommon for fringe 'experts' to get their voice in the media.

[RandBlade]

Source on these experts and their independence please.

[Loki]

These experts are claiming that the bridges are more dangerous than is necessary, not that they're on the verge of collapse.

[RandBlade]

Clearly not the same thing then. Which makes sense as to be comparable there ought to be multiple collapses on a daily basis like there's multiple daily problems in Syria etc.

[GGT]

I.e. you trust experts who agree with your gut feeling? Because generally speaking said agencies, public or private, also have experts. And while independent experts are sometimes correct, they aren't always - but keep in mind that an 'expert' claiming you are in danger in some way, or to dispute what agencies say, works better on TV. It's not exactly uncommon for fringe 'experts' to get their voice in the media.

Other way around: engineering experts have led me to believe our public infrastructure isn't as safe as public officials portray.

Source on these experts and their independence please.

Didn't I already say the scientific meta-analysis came from independent structural engineers....with studies (initially) published in Popular Mechanics several years ago?

[RandBlade]

Saying that isn't a source. A link to an article in that magazine or elsewhere saying x bridges are being used while condemned is.

[LittleFuzzy]

I remember seeing a similar article a few years ago, though it didn't make the same claim GGT is asserting here. It was closer to what Loki said, that they were more unsafe than was necessary and that infrastructure maintenance was inadequate so that in aggregate they would be growing even worse faster than they would be getting fixed/improved.

[Flixy]

That's what I remember too - inadequate maintenance and outdated designs that resulted in them being not up to all the safety standards, and some more vulnerable in the case of things like a collision. Not that any bridge in particular was about to collapse.