Days without a bridge failure: 
Temperatures in NYC have reached their highest point so far this year, with Central Park reading 95°F (35°C) yesterday. This will be the 5th straight day with temperatures above 90°F (32.2°C). New York City sees 15 days reach 90°F (32.2°C) per year on average.
How the fuck is a bridge not engineered to withstand 35 degrees? Like bruh you didn't even make sure your bridge can withstand human body temperature?
Yeah like I know climate change and all that but 95F, while uncommon for NYC, is absolutely not unheard of. This should absolutely be within the normal temperature range you’re prepared for
Bare metal can reach the 70 degrees with an ambient of 40... but even with that in mind it should be designed to handle much more. America seems so fucked
From what I read the bridge was built in 1898 and had its last major overhaul in 2004. NYC has seen hotter temps than 95°F/35°C during those 126 years. It got up to 108/42 degrees in 1936 for example, and broke 100/37 several times since 2004.
I feel like there's more going on there than mere thermal expansion, which should be accounted for in a rotating swing bridge like this. I don't know much about geology but could the ground on either side shift enough without, say, an earthquake causing it?
I am a geologist actually and just to be clear that’s definitely not what happened. The only things I can imagine actually happened to cause this were lack of maintenance resulting in rust, which expands and as a result can lock the bridge up. Also bare metal in the sun can get much hotter than air temperature, so the bridge was probably significantly warmer than the air which resulted in greater thermal expansion
Well pretty sure Giuliani was still mayor so my guess is every possible corner was cut
MFW we’re literal pro-China leftists, and I think more of us care about the well-being of this country than its so-called “patriots” that are running it right now.
"Liberte, egalite, fraternite"
The things that pull most people left in an idealistic way are really just flavors of compassion & justice, imo. So you would kinda naturally care more than the deranged leadership we have.
Mainly it’s because I do not want to die on one of Americas failing bridges or be crushed by some janky overpass.
The francis scott key bridge will take four years minimum to rebuild :)
Unless Teslon Musk can build a super bridge that slingshots cars across the bay and they float down with a subscription based parachute that you can get epic skins on like a ape who is not having a good time and alao hes smoking a banano (canon)
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the cost overrun 'n the brave---
Seriously... Take the time estimate and double it. Take the cost estimate an quadruple it.
We build a giant slingshot to shoot the cars
But we have something to catch them if they don't make it.
And well have to be able to catch them going either way so we'll need two of them, separated by direction of travel.
And we'll make the catchers out of something that the cars can glide along.
Actually we'll make it so the cars can push off the catching device so they don't end up stopping before the end.
And then every car will need a way to propel themselves so we'll install a power unit in each one.
Then we'll add wheels to take advantage of rolling momentum instead of jsut sliding.
I've done it again.
What about the monkey smoking the nanner and the parachute and the fortnite tie in?
Noooo! But China bad falling buildings gutter oil no food 1989 Tinyman Cube!
Wasn't like a year ago that city walls were oozing out black sludge? American cities were not designed to survive in extreme heat.
An Environmental Science & Technology study published in May sought to understand the public health impacts of a concurrent heat wave and blackout in three major American cities. The study found that if a multiday heat wave and electrical grid failure occurred simultaneously in Phoenix, the city’s residents would be in extreme danger.
Half of Phoenix’s 1.6 million residents would need urgent medical attention, and 1% of the population, or 13,250 people would die. The study said this would create a crisis for the city with fewer than 3,000 emergency room beds.
https://www.statepress.com/article/2023/08/phoenix-heat-waves-blackouts-risk
