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July 25, 2007 5:18 PM

Katie Couric's Notebook: Problems We Can't See

Posted by Katie Couric
It's one of the most pressing problems in the country -- but you rarely hear about it. And sometimes you can't even SEE it. It's the infrastructure, the network of roads and bridges, wires and pipes that keep American going. And it's in serious trouble.

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infrastructure ,
steam pipe ,
katie couric
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Katie Couric's Notebook
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by ericmichael1 July 26, 2007 1:54 AM EDT
Katie, you have made me laugh soooo much tonight!

You had the Computer Police censor out the word

D*A*R*N

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha...

Did they call you a n*e*r*d in school? (done to make sure you didn't have them censor THAT word, too! Ha!

Misty, I like long romantic train rides like the one in North by Northwest, one of my favorite movies, you wonderful film critic!

Eric
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by ericmichael1 July 26, 2007 1:44 AM EDT
I agree with you on the infrastructure debacle, Katie.

If the U.S. wasn't spending so much on this tragic war, perhaps the trillion plus necessary would be available.

I have an idea. Let's have a concert.

We can call it Bridge Save.

(Bump!) O, ***, another pothole!

:)

Eric
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by petersemkiw July 25, 2007 11:09 PM EDT
Dear Katie,
I think we often forget about the great importance of the infrastructures of America in our everyday lives. The steam pipe that blew up in NYC last week, and the burst levees in New Orleans are good examples of how important they are. Several years ago a part of a bridge crossing on Interstate 95 over a river in Connecticut, fell down just a few hours after I had driven across it. And of course anyone who travels or lives in NYC is aware of the mighty complex infrastructures of bridges, tunnels,elevated subway tracks and subway tunnels, and superhighways,etc. that are an important part of the fabric of NYC transportation, and regular NYC working life. They all need continued regular inspection and checkups.

One of my college friends became a structural engineer. He often talked about inspecting many small bridges all over the country, that were often in dangerous states of disrepair and that needed thorough reconstruction and rebuilding.
But there are so many infrastructures in all of America, that it is difficult to have them all inspected frequently. But as the lessons of the burst levees in New Orleans and recent burst steam pipe in New York teach us, if we don't continue to pay regular thorough attention to all these infrastructures with regular periodic checkups, we may be in for some terrifying and possibly trajic consequences and these must be prevented, at all costs.

Peter
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by kenhamlett July 25, 2007 10:32 PM EDT
KC! Very informative show tonight. Thank You.

In regard to infrastructure I am glad someone in the mainstream is talking about this problem. We are not quite to the point of falling apart at the seams but both nationally and locally, industry and government prefer to put off the inevitable until there is a failure in the system. I think it would be more cost effective to maintain critical systems than to wait for complete failure but it seems that if any given system works at all it is good enough for some people.
Thanks for pointing out this deficiency.
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