The Department of Transportation was established in October of 1966. The reason for its adoption was to ensure the safety of every American whilst traveling. DOT states on their federal website that their mission is to, “[s]erve the United States by ensuring a fast, safe, efficient, accessible and convenient transportation system that meets our vital national interests and enhances the quality of life of the American people, today and into the future”. However, many, if not all Americans, can agree that their word has not been upheld. Between the recurring problems of collapsing bridges due to poor infrastructure, horrible road conditions, and our airports. The bridges in our country have proven their selves insufficient for many years. Beginning
…show more content…
Overpasses as well as buildings were engineered to withstand harsh conditions, although this is true, there seems to be a new crumbling every time the earth shifts. This endangers not only the people on these structures, but the people around them as well. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the bridges in America a ‘C’ on their national report card in 2013, which is their most recent report. (ASCE 2013) With such a mediocre grade, it would be thought that the Department of Transportation would tighten down and send more funds towards the rebuilding of our interstate system. However, that is not the case. “In response to the ubiquity of worn out infrastructure, the U.S. Department of Transportation launched an Instagram and Twitter campaign, asking Americans to submit photos of worn-out …show more content…
Traveling by plane has become extremely popular and as this popularity continues to grow, so does the poor conditions of the facilities. Airports in America have issues that range from capacity regulations, flight control issues, to problems pertaining to runways. This is the reason for our current grade, given by the American Society of Civil Engineers, which is a ‘D’ (ASCE 2013). Often times our airports are referred to as “third world” airports, as stated by Donald Trump (Marsh 2016). While DOT does not handle the problems with our infrastructure directly, they hire associations such as, The Office of Aviation Analysis and Federal Aviation Administration to manage and lower the risks. The Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA established a plan, known as the NextGen Plan, which was designed for “improving the daily operations of the entire National Airspace System” (FAA.Gov). This plan was implemented in 2010, however we are in 2016 and are still not even in the top twenty-five percent of the greatest airports in the world. Not only are the airport buildings themselves dangerous, but the runways have cracks that have allowed grass and other vegetation to grow through and surface. This creates another hazard affecting the airplanes landing and taking off. DOT should enforce stricter regulations and perform audits more frequently in order to keep the
Overpasses as well as buildings were engineered to withstand harsh conditions, although this is true, there seems to be a new crumbling every time the earth shifts. This endangers not only the people on these structures, but the people around them as well. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the bridges in America a ‘C’ on their national report card in 2013, which is their most recent report. (ASCE 2013) With such a mediocre grade, it would be thought that the Department of Transportation would tighten down and send more funds towards the rebuilding of our interstate system. However, that is not the case. “In response to the ubiquity of worn out infrastructure, the U.S. Department of Transportation launched an Instagram and Twitter campaign, asking Americans to submit photos of worn-out …show more content…
Traveling by plane has become extremely popular and as this popularity continues to grow, so does the poor conditions of the facilities. Airports in America have issues that range from capacity regulations, flight control issues, to problems pertaining to runways. This is the reason for our current grade, given by the American Society of Civil Engineers, which is a ‘D’ (ASCE 2013). Often times our airports are referred to as “third world” airports, as stated by Donald Trump (Marsh 2016). While DOT does not handle the problems with our infrastructure directly, they hire associations such as, The Office of Aviation Analysis and Federal Aviation Administration to manage and lower the risks. The Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA established a plan, known as the NextGen Plan, which was designed for “improving the daily operations of the entire National Airspace System” (FAA.Gov). This plan was implemented in 2010, however we are in 2016 and are still not even in the top twenty-five percent of the greatest airports in the world. Not only are the airport buildings themselves dangerous, but the runways have cracks that have allowed grass and other vegetation to grow through and surface. This creates another hazard affecting the airplanes landing and taking off. DOT should enforce stricter regulations and perform audits more frequently in order to keep the