surely this is a good idea that doesn’t have the capacity to end real fuckin badly
Bridges aren’t supposed to have weight restrictions on them. That is, they don’t come with weight restrictions on them when they’re new. So a bridge with a weight restriction on it is a sign that something has gone wrong and the bridge does not meet current standards.
The maximum weight that a vehicle is allowed to carry on the Interstate System per federal law is 80,000 pounds gross vehicle weight (with a max of 20,000 pounds per axle). That’s 40 tons. That limit applies to every inch of pavement, not just the bridges. Since this is a known cap, a new Interstate bridge will be designed to accommodate an 80,000 lb GVW load on it. You could say the bridge’s weight limit is 80,000 lb/40 tons but that doesn’t really have much meaning, because a load higher than that would be illegal to transport on public roads anyway, and the road leading up to the bridge has the same weight restriction. (In practice, the bridge doubtlessly will be designed to have a little bit of let to it just in case some idiot tries to squeak by a few hundred extra pounds.)
Now, note that that law applies to the Interstate System only, because the federal government only has a governing interest in the Interstate System (and other roads that together make up something called the National Highway System) because they partially fund it. Most long-distance roads are owned and funded by the states. The states could theoretically set lower standard weight limits and/or design bridges with lower weight limits…but in practice they don’t.
One, because all of that 80,000 lb GVW traffic on the Interstate system has to go somewhere when it exits the system.
Two, because a group called the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO, who are best known for picking the road numbers) maintains a catalog of standard components for making bridges that meet Interstate System requirements. Engineers are expensive on a per-hour basis, so if you can direct your engineer to use standard components and make a standard bridge, that’s a lot cheaper than having them design a bridge from scratch to go over the creek in Nowheresville. As a result, most new bridges meet Interstate standards and have an 80,000 lb GVW rating even if they aren’t on the Interstate system. (This is also why all new bridges kind of look the same, but we’re not worried about how boring the bridges are for the sake of this post.)
So a bridge only has an explicit weight limit if it has been damaged in some way (through failure to properly maintain it usually) or because it predates the application of Interstate System standards and the standard AASHTO bridges.
Older bridges often have other problems in addition to the weight limits: many older designs are what we call “fracture critical”, which means that if one component of the bridge fails the whole thing collapses. Modern bridge designs have redundancy designed into them so that if one beam fails the other beams will carry the load until the damaged beam can be replaced. Older bridges also often don’t meet other standards, like height (16 ft clearance) and width (12 ft per lane plus 14 ft for shoulders) requirements.
Biden isn’t advocating eliminating weight limits and letting it be a laissez-faire free-for-all where trucks can just go wherever they want. He’s advocating for replacing bridges that carry weight limits with new ones that don’t have them.
wow i got absolutely schooled thank you for all this this is really informative. i have learned so much
This is a great explanation of what the fuck Biden was talking about in his tweet. because I will freely admit that I also went “…….wtf?????” when I read it. So thank you.
The earth calls with the voice of mountains be here, be strong, be unmovable Her song flows through layered wet clay be fluid, heed the primal chtonic pressure Transformed by deep geothermic forces time shapes itself into pregnant patience palms splayed out on its distended belly bathed in sunlight, I rest in trust.
The sky whispers with the voice of clouds float high, be light, be ever-changing His melody weaves through airy currents be adaptable, embrace ethereal whispers Molded by winds’ capricious dance moments carve, yielding to swift transitions Arms outstretched to embrace the open expanse bathed in sunlight, I soar with freedom.
they say suffering doesn’t improve art but i know the best music ever made comes from people who are just dying to get the fuck out of new jersey
Let me share with you this AMV set to the song Hell in a Handbasket by Voltaire who has said that this was written thinking of New Jersey (it is even in the song)
Go to @good-omens-classic where you would probably find and identify some artist credits. The video is 10 years old and sadly does not have them.
This vid has many of the same arts and they are credited!
There’s a lot of ways to live forever: Eat well. Smile more. Go running. Easy enough, I suppose. But we all know in our bones, have since we were habilis,
that the bitterer the pill the stronger. The taste of acid on the tongue is how you tell it’s working right. I know how to take ancient advice:
I laugh at my failures so they do not sting. I bury myself in solitude so I will not be lonely. I sleep so I know what it is like to die. I drink poison in tiny doses and it is still poison.
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man who went seeking goodly pearls; and who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went at once and sold all that he had, and bought it.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man who went seeking goodly pearls; but who, when he had found one pearl that was perfect, and of great price, knew that he could not afford to purchase it, not if he sold all he had, and ever after despaired.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a young merchant man who went seeking goodly pearls; but who, when he found one pearl of great price, knew that he could not afford to buy it, not if he sold all he had, and despaired. And therefore he went away, and with what he had, built a house and took a wife, and planted olive-trees. And in his old age when he was wealthy, he learned that the pearl was still for sale, but he found that he no longer desired to give up everything he had to possess it.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man who went seeking goodly pearls; and who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went at once and sold all that he had, and bought it. But pearls are soft and fragile things, and by the time that age had dimmed his sight he found that its light had also dimmed, and it had grown dull, and unlovely.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man who went seeking goodly pearls; and who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went at once and sold all that he had, and bought it. And cherishing it greatly, he had it set in a ring of silver; but the work was flawed, and in time the edge of the metal scratched at the surface of the nacre, and dimmed its light.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man who went seeking goodly pearls; and who, when he learned of one of great price buried in a lowly field, at once he sold all that he had, and bought the field, and dug up the pearl for his own, and kept it ever after.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man who went seeking goodly pearls; and who, when he learned of one of great price buried in a field, did not sleep the night that followed, but went in the morning to the field’s owner, and told him of what lay there.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man who went seeking goodly pearls, and found many of great price, which in time filled a casket in his private rooms. But he took no joy in their light, always supposing that there was another, more precious and more flawless, for which it would be worth exchanging all he had.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man who went seeking goodly pearls, and found many of great price, which in time filled a casket in his private rooms. But he took no joy in their light, and loved them not, until the day came that he went down to the cliffs above the waters where the oysters dreamt, and learned to dive.
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls; who, when he had found one of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. He then resold it for an even greater sum, and so recouped his fortunes twice over, and gladly parted with the pearl for good.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, who, having found a pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. But when he finally held it in his hands he found it glassy and leaden, and it did not warm with his touch as true pearls do. And so he tore his clothes and reproached himself for believing he could ever have afforded such a treasure, as all his earthly goods in the end amounted to nothing.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, who, having found a pearl of great price, was far too canny to risk all his worth on a single investment. And so instead he bought and sold many other pearls, less goodly, and sought to be contented in those.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, who, having found a pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Unbeknownst to him the pearl was a sham, but so cunningly forged it fooled all that saw it. And so it retained its prestige and value; and for all his life he believed himself wealthy and discerning, and only well after his death was the deception uncovered.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man who inherited a pearl of great price, passed down through generations of his family. And thus he was advised not to seek out other goodly pearls, nor to let his eye wander, lest he be tempted by them to trade away his birthright.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, who, having found a pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Owning nothing in the world but the pearl, he soon found it could not shelter him, nor feed him, nor safeguard him from harm, and so was quickly forced to resell it for a fraction of its cost, and was left all the poorer for his ambitions.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, who, having found a pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Having exhausted his fortune, he was reduced to penury, wandering the streets begging for food. But during the night, huddled in the dust outside the gates, he would take the pearl from his rags and admire its sheen, its great luster, and the price he had paid made it all the more precious to him.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls, who said: “If you offered me a pearl of great price right now, or a mustard seed? I’d take the mustard seed. Because a mustard seed grows. A pearl doesn’t. I plant the mustard seed, I grow a tree that keeps producing more mustard seeds. That’s passive income. Find a way to make passive income, it’ll change your life.”
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls, who, when he had found one of great price, vowed that one day he should own it for himself. And so he rededicated himself to his businesses and dealings, and returned years later a wealthy man and bought it. Looking over his newest acquisition, he could not help but noticed that the pearl seemed to have lost some of its luster set among his store of treasures; that it no longer filled him with the same awe and longing of his youth. But still, it was a goodly pearl, and well worth owning nonetheless.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, who, having found a pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. That money might have instead gone to feed the hungry, or clothe the poor, or tend to the beggar covered in sores outside his gate; but he did none of that. For such is the nature of value: that the pearl would have been worth nothing to begin with had it not come at the expense of so much else.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man selling goodly pearls, of such great price that someone who sold all that they had might still not begin to afford one; no, not if they worked a dozen lifetimes. And so it was that thieves broke down the gates of the merchant’s house one night, and slit his throat, and took the pearls for themselves.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, who, having found a pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. But after him came a poor widow with only two small copper coins, and for that was sold a pearl just as large and lustrous as his own.
“After all the years I have labored,” he cried out, “and willingly given over! And now you offer her the same for pennies?”
“She gave the same as you, all that she had,” returned the shopkeeper. “So why should you complain? Have you not also gained a treasure worth many times over what you paid for it? Rather, rejoice, then, that this poor widow has shared in your good fortune!”
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, who, having found a pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Holding it in his palm, he was struck that all his life’s labors, everything that he owned — his home, his stock of wares, his tracts of land, his vineyards, all earned by the sweat of his brow — could be outweighed twice over by this single pearl, this weightless bit of grit and nacre formed by accident in an oyster’s innards; and in that moment he was filled with a great loathing for the pearl, and flung it from him. And what became of the pearl then, and of the merchant, nobody knows.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, who, having found a pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Cradling it in his palm, he was struck by how readily he had parted with all his wares, his keepsakes, his tracts of land, his home, all for such a tiny thing; and how little he missed them. For in truth he had long since grown weary of the miserliness of his trade, and the management of his household brought him little pleasure. And so he spent the remainder of his days in contemplation of the pearl, marveling at the freedom it had bought him.
*****
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, who, having found a pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. And then, having divested himself of all else that he owned, let the pearl fall from his hand to disappear among all the countless grains of sand, and went on his way, unburdened.
