Infrastructure Needs Scream For Attention Following D.C. Accident BALTIMORE, MD (wypr) - It's way too early for commentary on the causes of this week's frightening crash on DC's lovely and usually quite reliable system. The experts will be untangling debris, interviewing passengers and examining records for months.

At the moment, we grieve for the victims - the nine dead and 80 injured, knowing it could have been any one of us. They lived through an event that every subway rider may have imagined - in Washington, New York, Boston, London - wherever these systems operate.

Various authorities are already reporting how they had urged Metro to replace aging equipment. Others report problems with track side sensors designed to make crashes impossible

But there is this thought. From the bridge collapse in Minnesota to Katrina, cases of vulnerable U.S, structure abound. Often, it not always after a disaster. unheeded advice to authorities. Many bridges in the United States need repair or replacement. Levies in Louisiana and elsewhere need strengthening.


The work doesn't get done often. It's not because those in charge aren't listening. But the demands for costly repairs aren't met because there's often something more pressing, or, something more affordable. The big projects get pushed to the bottom of the pike. They are usually quite expensive - and the riders, the taxpayers, are not eager to pay higher taxes. Public officials make the best decisions they can - and then pray,

We riders of the rails and highways should keep that in mind -- and do a little praying of our own.

You've been listening to a commentary by WYPR's Senior News Analyst Fraser Smith. Your comments are invited at fsmith@wypr.org © Copyright 2009, wypr