When the Levee Breaks

[rlown]

I love bedrock. They should have built on that rather than clay.

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[Tom_H]

I love bedrock. They should have built on that rather than clay.

You got that right, especially if it's granite. Jobs are too often done the cheapest way possible, regardless of whether a little more money would have enabled a much better build.

Adding fly ash or volcanic ash would lengthen life expectancy of highway concrete from 20 years to 40 years at an increase of 20% of the raw materials cost. But states and the feds don't want to pay for it.

OTOH, the Brooklyn Bridge was built to hold 10 times the weight that was expected ever to sit on it. It is still functioning well in its second century of life.

Remember that saying, They don't build things the way they used to.