The twentieth century was one of building infrastructure in America, bombed out Europe and third world countries. Highways, bridges, pipelines, and millions of buildings were built with the goal of building them as fast as possible for the day’s statistics and with the day’s materials. That building boom made us the country we are today.

Past President Dwight Eisenhower started the interstate system because of his experience before the war and trying to cross the country with a battalion of troops and their equipment. It was a terrible experience. His choice was the Nazi built Autobahn’s thick highways and taking a century to build. He chose fast to spend billions on maintenance. The state and cities did the same. Our National Emblem today could be a pothole.

With new roads and expanded population we needed to cross rivers and, like the highways, we built bridges with a lifespan of less than a century for the traffic at the time. Every year we have major bridges falling into the river and lots of lesser ones that do not make the news. Often cars go down, too.

Pipelines carry many products from one area to another and to our homes. Every year we have major leaks with disastrous accidents involving thousands of gallons of oil contaminating waters or blowing up buildings. These pipelines wear from the fluid flowing through them and normal rusting. Steel lines don’t last forever.

In European countries people are living in buildings that were built hundreds of years ago. Many multi-family building are being torn down after a few decades because they were not built to last.

This country is seeing how building fast and without planning for growth and conditions means second class infrastructure that needs to be redone at tremendous cost. We need to rebuild what we have and build lots more for future needs.

            President Biden is pushing an infrastructure program to repair America’s decaying infrastructure. Fix means to repair the old broken roads and bridges, not to build new while continuing to let the old fall apart.

            Instead of building a new Lake Shore Drive, use the money to replace some of the thousands of miles of roads which are heavily potholed. Fix old so it will last for years instead of throwing some patch material into the same potholes each year.

            Fix right and without bribery or collusion or political connections. Chicago should put some impeccable honest people in a position to oversee the projects. Don’t use the funds to line some politically connected people’s pockets. Spend it wisely for the good of the people of Chicago.