In Mississippi, closed bridges and crumbling infrastructure threaten lives and livelihoods
More than a dozen Mississippi residents said that emergency services, at times, struggled to find their way to those who called for help.GREENVILLE, Miss. — Stephanie Park, 70, waited with the body of her neighbor for two hours before the Washington County coroner could make it to his house here in the Mississippi Delta. Rigor mortis had set in.
About 15 miles to the southwest, Lori Gower, 57, had to drive her Dodge Charger through a nearby farm field swamped by heavy rain to get to her house after work. The car’s engine flooded and her husband, Mack, 64, had to tow her out. Mack, for his part, couldn’t get his diabetes medication delivered.
Just 50 miles north, Rives Neblett, 75, a Delta farmer, has watched the production cost for each bushel of soybeans increase by more than seven cents because his harvest truck has to take circuitous routes.
The source of all four Mississippians’ troubles: Bridges that were closed. And not temporarily closed because of accidents or flooding, but closed because of old age, splintered supports, or cracked concrete.
Mississippi, a relatively poor state, has never been known for its gleaming transportation network, but the situation today is worse than ever. Across the state, residents now have to circumvent nearly 500 closed bridges that have been declared unsafe, according to the Mississippi Office of State Aid Road Construction. Another 1,742 are posted with specific weight limits because of structural deficiencies. Combined, that accounts for more than 20 percent of the county and local bridges in the state.
Much more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mississippi-closed-bridges-crumbling-infrastructure-threaten-lives-livelihoods-n892571
A bridge closure near the Western Hills neighborhood in Jackson. Closures like this one mean some local residents face longer commute times. Brandon Thibodeaux / for NBC News
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I'm in New York and we have a lot of unsafe bridges and have had more than one tragic collapse. The one that made the national news was the Schoharie Creek Bridge collapse over the NYS Thruway in 1987 killing 10 people. 
FILE--This is a April 5, 1987, file photo showing the collapsed New York State Thruway bridge over the Schoharie Creek at Amsterdam, N.Y. The bridge collapse killed 10 people who were traveling on the Thruway on the rainy Sunday morning. (AP Photo/ Jim McKnight, file)
the wealthy and corporations got their permanent tax break. We had to borrow one and a half trillion dollars from China to pull that off.
What, do you think we're made of money?
Priorities, man. Priorities.
I don't think I need this, but just in case 
How everyone can't see that is a mystery to me.
Derp
Right-wingers have touted their anti-tax, anti-infrastructure “Starve the Beast” theory for years, claiming that “Big Gummint” and taxes to pay for repairs is automatically bad.
Now Mississippi, a state governed by Republicans for decades, is finding the true cost of following such idiocy.
Crumbling bridges, transportation in ruins, an infrastructure starting to resemble that of Central America, and the citizens of Mississippi still let idiots propound this garbage govern them?
I am so glad California budgets to repair or build new roads and bridges. I live in the foot hills of California and the road is repaved (state money) every 10 years even if not required. I live in a RED county and there are many local areas with unpaved roads because the county wants to save money like the people back EAST. CHEERS to those who want to progress and live a better life. Those who are responsible for the EVIL can go to HELL 
