Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Collaspe of the Brattleboro-Hinsdale Bridge: Coverup in Gov Sununu's Office

Update July 25

It the below post, I meant the moveable bearings, not the fixed bearings. But they are both non functional.  

Update July 24

The inspection was incomplete. Why wasn't it mentioned in the new inspection report the new concrete footing was obstructing the fixed bearings as seen in my photograph? They are non functional. Is Hoyle,Tanner covering up for the NHDOT's screwups?


The inspectors took better photographs than me.    
2018 Routine/Fracture Critical Member Inspection Report 
Anna Hunt Marsh Bridge NH Route 119 over the Connecticut River NHDOT Bridge No. 041/040 Hinsdale, NH
Prepared for 
The Department of Transportation
July 2018 

Item 59.7 Bearings:

The bearings are considered to be in satisfactory to poor condition. The expansion and fixed shoes exhibit paint system failure with moderate to heavy rusting. There is heavy rusting with laminar corrosion at exterior of the pin and bearing saddle interface. The expansion bearing roller guides are not plumb. The north truss expansion bearing exterior rollers have rotated in the contraction direction beyond their limit and appear to be frozen based on the amount of surface rust and accumulated debris. The south truss expansion bearing exterior rollers have also rotated in the contraction direction but to a lesser degree and also appear to be frozen based on the amount of surface rust and accumulated debris. Refer to Appendix A for representative condition photographs.
 Inline image
Originally posted 7/16/2019...reposted.  

Update July 17

So yesterday Mr Young (gov's office) said he would call me right back. He was going to get me the telephone number to the right person in the NHDOT bridge inspection department. It has been 24 hours. I think he tripped into a situation a lot more complicated than he could imagine.   


Update

Just imagine if Gov. Sununu fired for cause a bunch of NHDOT inspectors and mangers? This scandal would just explode. NH is a extremely weak governor system. The governor is mostly powerless. I doubt the governor has the power to fire anyone except his staff?  

Has anyone asked why this bridge wasn't on the NH red list. This is how they apportion bridge funding to communities mostly. They were falsifying inspection.

So mike, why didn't it get on the red list. Because they would have no bases that any changes occurred. It would illuminate their systemic bridge inspections falsification game.  

Just like today, if they shutdown the bridge. I could ask the NHDOT what changes occurred on this new inspection compared to the last inspection. They-we wouldn't find any significant changes from the last inspection. The game would be up!!!  


...Mr Young gave me a phone call this morning. He is in Gov. Sununu office. He seemed irritated with me. He wanted me to cold call somebody in the NHDOT bridge building office, he wasn't associated with the bridge inspection department on Friday. I told him is he sending me on a witch hunt. He had a hard time understanding the bridge building department won't much be involved in the bridge inspection bureaucracy. I asked him if he called the "so called" bridge building guy to set the stage for me. I said, I know these guys. They are going to think of me as a nut case or crazy ass blogger. The will just blow me off the crazy talk. I am going to tell him some of his inspections are being falsified. He is shut up like a clam. He told he is going to figure this out...he will give the bridge building guy a phone call. I'll get you a number to call. That was around 9am. It now about 2pm. I'll bet after a few calls he found a manager associated with our bride. I'll bet the bridge inspection guy is giving  him a little education on the design of our bridge and updating new events.    




Michael Mulligan <steamshovel2002@yahoo.com>
To:preston.young@nh.gov
‎Jul‎ ‎15 at ‎12‎:‎16‎ ‎PM 

Mr. Young, 
I see you and your associates first emailed me with a program who could erase your email and all my return linked emails. You didn't get them all yet. Now the governor's office is implicated in a coverup. It is now time to get the lawyers involved. You are a amateur...all rank amateurs.

God help Gov. Sununu if there becomes a mass casualty event for the Brattleboro-Hinsdale bridge.

Hoyle Tanner is the firm who did the bridge inspections and I talked to them on the bridge.  

Michael Mulligan <steamshovel2002@yahoo.com>
To:mlow@hoyletanner.com

‎Jul‎ ‎15 at ‎10‎:‎15‎ ‎AM
Dear Sir,

My hobby for years was to replace this bridge(s). I was the spark who created the community rebellion that created the replacement project. I know you guys recently completely the NHDOT five year inspection associates with these bridges. Hopefully it is last. I know NHDOT is one of the most corrupt state agencies in the nation. Their bridge inspection agency is really bad. I have proof of this. These guys have been serially falsifying bridge inspections for years. 

I overheard your employee talking about the conditions under the deck. I got pictures of that too. Basically that area is horrendously rotted out, unsafe and needing maybe a year shutdown for a rehab job. We are facing a shutdown of the bridge even as the new construction project is building up steam. I believe the bridge now is unsafe and needs to be shutdown. It certainly is going to collapse before the new bridge is open. The state has been subtilty gaming bridge inspection for political reasons and favors for decades.

I have specific issues with the moving and stationary barings… the rocker and roller baring. The stationary bearings have way more corrosion damage than admitted in any NHDOT inspection report. I'd seen it close up with my own eyes and camera. Did you know the Brattleboro bridge is grossly out of plumb? It tilts toward the downriver side. Is this in your inspection report? 

There is a really thick plate guiding the gigantic truss into the bearing, then to footing truss bracket, that is terribly bent. With all that corrosion and metal rot, you have no idea of the operability with the stationary bearing. The same happy-land identical inspection wording of basically "heavy rust and leaks" is seen in inspection reports for decades on end. They are gaming inspections reports for a unseen agenda. I hope your company is not going to be involve with a mass causality event in the near future? We got a 1.5 million cars per year going across the bridges. Is this condition going to be accuracy represented in your current inspection report to the state? It never has been accurately represented in any NHDOT inspection report. The 1920 era bridge in the early years was severely damage in a catastrophic flooding event.    

This is an example of how pathetic and dangerous the NHDOT is. They rehabbed the fragile footing years ago with new concrete. This is the long bridge abutting Brattleboro, east side. They placed the concrete footing touching the roller or rocker bearings. The roller or rocker bearings has been blocked with the footing for decades. The footing made this safety device to non functioning for DECADES. There is nothing relieving the typical bridge stresses including thermal expansion and contraction. The thermal expansion joint seen from the roadway which gives some leeway between the footing and bridge...it is just for show. I actually see damage with the footing from the bride expansion and contraction. It is a disgrace. Are true and actual condition with these bearing going to be accurately represented in your inspection report? The NHDOT has been falsifying their inspections report on these bearings for years. Remember I got pictures of it. 

Believe me, don't bury this email in you system. I am a season whistleblower dealing with hundreds of million dollar cases over many years. Show this to your higher ups. Do not cover your asses. Please do not  be implicated in a coverup. I know federal funding is involved with NHDOT bridge inspections. I know the Governor's office is reluctantly in investigation my allegations. I am going after the NHDOT and its bridge inspection department. I am sure your employees felt the severe bridge vibrations and swaying from their cherry picker inspecting the highest reach of these gigantic truss.

Here below is my blog. This email is going to be posted on it. I wrote most of my posts towards the end of July (pictures). I am open to talk with anyone. If you google Mike Mulligan, Brattleboro-Hinsdale bridge or something similar and Mike Mulligan, Brattleboro Reformer you will see how long I've been involved. I got all of my heart into saving lives. My community and beyond expects a completely accurate and comprehensive representation on the abysmal conditions of the bridge. I better not see you cutting and pasting words and phrases from any past falsified inspection reports because everyone else does it to compete. That is a new beginning!!!       




Inline image
Unbelievably skimpy NHDOT inspection reports and this makes the inspections report horrendously vulnerable to bridge inspection fraud and falsifications. The skimpiness, shallowness and inaccurate framework of the inspection reports was an intentional tool by the NHDOT to create bridge inspection systemic fraud and falsification towards a aim of political corruption.     

Movable Bearing 
NESTED ROLLER 
BEARINGS WITH TRUSS PIN AT EAST ABUTMENT BOTTOM PLATES HOLED AT NORTHEAST ROLLER BEARING, REPAIRED AND PAINTED. PLATES BETWEEN ROLLER BEARING PIN AND TOP CHORD END DIAGONAL RUSTED WITH HEAVY SECTION LOSS AT NORTHEAST, CLEANED AND PAINTED. MODERATE RUST AT BEARINGS.

Fixed Bearing
FIXED PIN BEARINGS AT WEST ABUTMENT MODERATE RUST AND SCALE AT INTERIORS

Michael Mulligan <steamshovel2002@yahoo.com>

To:preston.young@nh.gov

Sincerely,

Mike Mulligan (aka bridge angel) 
5 Wood Lane
Hinsdale, NH 
16032094206 (cell)
Hinsdale, NH

Hoyle Tanner is the company who inspected our bridges. I am a little bit out of the box with contacting the bridge inspection company on a inspection report that hasn't come out yet. One can only imagine how traumatic this note could be for a company and it political ramification.   
Hoyle Tanner is the company who inspected our bridges 

Michael Mulligan <steamshovel2002@yahoo.com>


To:mlow@hoyletanner.com


‎Jul‎ ‎15 at ‎10‎:‎15‎ ‎AM



Dear Sir,

My hobby for years was to replace this bridge(s). I was the spark who created the community rebellion that created the replacement project. I know you guys recently completely the NHDOT five year inspection associates with these bridges. Hopefully it is last. I know NHDOT is one of the most corrupt state agencies in the nation. Their bridge inspection agency is really bad. I have proof of this. These guys have been serially falsifying bridge inspections for years. 

I overheard your employee talking about the conditions under the deck. I got pictures of that too. Basically that area is horrendously rotted out, unsafe and needing maybe a year shutdown for a rehab job. We are facing a shutdown of the bridge even as the new construction project is building up steam. I believe the bridge now is unsafe and needs to be shutdown. It certainly is going to collapse before the new bridge is open. The state has been subtilty gaming bridge inspection for political reasons and favors for decades.

I have specific issues with the moving and stationary barings… the rocker and roller baring. The stationary bearings have way more corrosion damage than admitted in any NHDOT inspection report. I'd seen it close up with my own eyes and camera. Did you know the Brattleboro bridge is grossly out of plumb? It tilts toward the downriver side. Is this in your inspection report? 

There is a really thick plate guiding the gigantic truss into the bearing, then to footing truss bracket, that is terribly bent. With all that corrosion and metal rot, you have no idea of the operability with the stationary bearing. The same happy-land identical inspection wording of basically "heavy rust and leaks" is seen in inspection reports for decades on end. They are gaming inspections reports for a unseen agenda. I hope your company is not going to be involve with a mass causality event in the near future? We got a 1.5 million cars per year going across the bridges. Is this condition going to be accuracy represented in your current inspection report to the state? It never has been accurately represented in any NHDOT inspection reportThe 1920 era bridge in the early years was severely damage in a catastrophic flooding event.    

This is an example of how pathetic and dangerous the NHDOT is. They rehabbed the fragile footing years ago with new concrete. This is the long bridge abutting Brattleboro, east side. They placed the concrete footing touching the roller or rocker bearings. The roller or rocker bearings has been blocked with the footing for decades. The footing made this safety device to non functioning for DECADES. There is nothing relieving the typical bridge stresses including thermal expansion and contraction. The thermal expansion joint seen from the roadway which gives some leeway between the footing and bridge...it is just for show. I actually see damage with the footing from the bride expansion and contraction. It is a disgrace. Are true and actual condition with these bearing going to be accurately represented in your inspection report? The NHDOT has been falsifying their inspections report on these bearings for years. Remember I got pictures of it. 

Believe me, don't bury this email in you system. I am a season whistleblower dealing with hundreds of million dollar cases over many years. Show this to your higher ups. Do not cover your asses. Please do not  be implicated in a coverup. I know federal funding is involved with NHDOT bridge inspections. I know the Governor's office is reluctantly in investigation my allegations. I am going after the NHDOT and its bridge inspection department. I am sure your employees felt the severe bridge vibrations and swaying from their cherry picker inspecting the highest reach of these gigantic truss.      
Here below is my blog. This email is going to be posted on it. I wrote most of my posts towards the end of July (pictures). I am open to talk with anyone. If you google Mike Mulligan, Brattleboro-Hinsdale bridge or something similar and Mike Mulligan, Brattleboro Reformer you will see how long I've been involved. I got all of my heart into saving lives. My community and beyond expects a completely accurate and comprehensive representation on the abysmal conditions of the bridge. I better not see you cutting and pasting words and phrases from any past falsified inspection reports because everyone else does it to compete. That is a new beginning!!!       


Sincerely,

Mike Mulligan (aka bridge angel) 
5 Wood Lane
Hinsdale, NH 
16032094206 (cell)
Hinsdale, NH

Hinsdale-Brattleboro 12210C


Movable Bearing 
NESTED ROLLER BEARINGS WITH TRUSS PIN AT EAST ABUTMENT BOTTOM PLATES HOLED AT NORTHEAST ROLLER BEARING, REPAIRED AND PAINTED. PLATES BETWEEN ROLLER BEARING PIN AND TOP CHORD END DIAGONAL RUSTED WITH HEAVY SECTION LOSS AT NORTHEAST, CLEANED AND PAINTED. MODERATE RUST AT BEARINGS.

Fixed Bearing


FIXED PIN BEARINGS AT WEST ABUTMENT MODERATE RUST AND SCALE AT INTERIORS


An aid to the Gov. Sununu.  

Michael Mulligan <steamshovel2002@yahoo.com>

To:preston.young@nh.gov


‎Jul‎ ‎13 at ‎7‎:‎40‎ ‎AM



Bridge bearing


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia




An expansion bearing on the Queen Elizabeth II Metro Bridge.
A bridge bearing is a component of a bridge which typically provides a resting surface between bridge piers and the bridge deck. The purpose of a bearing is to allow controlled movement and thereby reduce the stresses involved. Movement could be thermal expansion or contraction, or movement from other sources such as seismic activity. There are several different types of bridge bearings which are used depending on a number of different factors including the bridge span. The oldest form of bridge bearing is simply two plates resting on top of each other. A common form of modern bridge bearing is the elastomeric bridge bearing. Another type of bridge bearing is the mechanical bridge bearing. There are several types of mechanical bridge bearing, such as the pinned bearing, which in turn includes specific types such as the rocker bearing, and the roller bearing. Another type of mechanical bearing is the fixed bearing, which allows rotation, but not other forms of movement...
That report on New bridge designs, where we got the bridge inspection report yesterday, the contractor that did that job was funded by NH, Vt and mostly federal funding. I am certain enormous amounts of federal funding are involved with NH bridge inspections. I doubt actually highly trained and educated federal bridge inspectors ever touched our bridges. Can you even imagine the political controversy developed between contradictory bridge inspections between the Feds and state? These guys protect each other asses by the feds not getting involved with bridge inspections. Like I asked, who oversees the overseers? Basically the feds roll out the bridge inspection codes, rules and funding without ever inspecting if the money was spent wisely and everything is up to federal bridge codes. I doubt it is required that the states followed the US bridge codes and inspection rules. NH bridge inspection rules must be pitiful? I doubt a state inspector falsifying a bridge inspection report is even illegal both in the state and federal laws. More worrisome, I doubt the actual NH bridge inspectors have the intense training and higher education needed for the job other than high school...little bridge inspector professionalism and a intense need to feed their families with their pitiful wages they make . Where do this bridge inspectors come from? Probably heavy equipment operators and essentially highway ditch diggers. I really don't mean to demean these good and loyal employees, I am just trying to make a point about the system.  
What I am certain is these bridges' won't last another five years until the new bridges' are opened, as I wrote to Mr Broodey. What has changed in the last few years is the traffic rate going across the bridges? The "Runnings" store, much like a high end Walmart has recently opened. Traffic (vehicles per day) rate across those bridges has drastically increased, including all the cars who go to the Runnings store. A lot of big tractor trailers loaded to the gills had to go over these bridges with these new consumer and recreational  products. The biggest bridge traffic rate concern of mine, is the unprecedented economic growth we are now seeing throughout the country and my surroundings. Unprecedented! Does anyone anticipate what the traffic (vpd) rate would look like in the near future with the upcoming booming economic growth years? How big will the boom be? Will the burdens of the drastic increase with the "vehicles per day" rate crossing these bridges, be the straw that broke bridges'/camel's back.   
What is really needed is a drastic reform with NHDOT's bridge inspector department. These guys are living in the stone age. The state really has to jack up the professionalism and transparency on this very important NHDOT department.
I giving Gov Sununu the opportunity to get ahead of the trend?               
Mike Mulligan (aka bridge angel)
Hinsdale, NH
16032094206








Keene Sentinal: Hinsdale-Brattleboro bridges land on state's red list after recent inspection

Update

The NHDOT gets a  grade of "A" plus with getting their new inspection report on the internet in quick time. Remember though, I pushed them to do it. It wasn't purely self directed...  


I have zero confidence this inspection was accurate. You can expect a mass causality event and body recovery at any moment.    

Hinsdale-Brattleboro bridges land on state's red list after recent inspection

By Meg McIntyre Sentinel Staff
17 min ago

HINSDALE — With a couple of years left before they’re scheduled to be replaced, the two bridges connecting the town to Brattleboro have been put on the state’s red list.

The downgrade comes after N.H. Department of Transportation
The multi-grade...fair to poor...down grade downgrade is proof they have been falsifying these bridge inspections. Inspections like this can be grossly inaccurate. They can't see everything...some areas are totally covered by layers of rust and other critical areas are not inspectable.    
officials reclassified the bridges from fair to poor condition following a routine inspection last month that identified further deterioration of the nearly 100-year-old spans.

The state’s red list comprises bridges classified as being in poor or worse condition. Bridges on the list are inspected twice yearly to check for any rapid changes.
State highway officials previously classified the narrow bridges as functionally obsolete, which means they’re outdated, don’t meet current design standards or have height and weight restrictions.

The bridges, named after Charles Dana and Anna Hunt Marsh, are Pennsylvania truss-style structures built in the 1920s and rehabilitated in 1988. They link Route 119 from Hinsdale to Brattleboro via Hinsdale Island, and are set to be replaced with a new bridge several hundred feet downstream, with construction scheduled to begin in 2019.

A project to replace the bridges has been included in the state’s 10-year transportation improvement plan since fiscal year 1994, with its start date being delayed several times. However, it was bumped completely from the 2013-22 plan because of lack of funding before being put back in the 2015-24 plan.

Manchester-based engineering firm Hoyle, Tanner and Associates Inc. completed the recent inspection over the
course of five days in late June. Inspectors identified corrosion-related deterioration of both bridges’ trusses and floor system, the resulting report states.
Though both bridges are safe for vehicle and pedestrian traffic, they may require weight limit postings or structural steel repairs in the future, according to an email from the state transportation department’s bridge design team that accompanied the report’s release.

“The ongoing project for the replacement of these two bridges has been largely driven by bridge geometrics and highway obsolescence, however the downgraded condition signifies that the bridges, after nearly 100 years of service, are approaching the end of their expected service lives from a structural standpoint,” the email reads.

Construction on a replacement bridge is scheduled to begin in 2019, according to the state’s most recent 10-year transportation plan. The new bridge will stretch 1,782 feet across the Connecticut River. It will vary in width between 49 feet along the majority of the roadway and 53 feet at the Vermont-side intersection — the slight width increase will accommodate a turning lane where Route 119 intersects Route 142.

That intersection will be controlled with a traffic signal. The plans also call for a 6-foot-wide sidewalk on the bridge’s north side, with a few viewing platforms for pedestrians to take in views of the river.

The state transportation department plans to maintain the existing bridges for bicycle and pedestrian use, officials said at a public hearing in January. The department has applied for a TIGER grant to provide additional funds for the old bridges’ refurbishment, they said.

Michael Darcy, chairman of the Hinsdale Board of Selectmen, said the town is more focused on the construction of the replacement bridge than on the state of the existing bridges.

“It’s concerning in that we have to be aware of the safety of the bridges, but in terms of getting a new bridge or anything, we’ve already done that process,” he said. “So it doesn’t really have any immediate implications.”

After nearly 100 years, the town is excited to finally have a new bridge, he said.

“Maybe the red-listing of the current bridges will goose that ahead a little bit, and maybe there’ll be a little more effort to get the new bridge completed as quickly as they can,” Darcy said.

More information on the bridge replacement project is available at
 
www.nh.gov/dot/projects/hinsdalebrattleboro12210/.

Monday, July 23, 2018

Junk Plant ANO Should Never Have Got Off The NRC's Worst Plant List

These guys just got off the worst NRC grade in the nation. What has it been on, the bad boy list some 5 years. It is all wasted money. 

The CRS (control room supervisor) who called in sick, sounds like he knew his crew wasn't ready for startup. He probably realized his crew would get into a bad situation...didn't want his reputation to get tarred by the screw-up.

The licensee says all the crew had been properly trained for all situations at the plant. Then they must be just shitty managers. Undoughterly the simulator training is up to the NRC regulation, but it is not sufficient to operate a plant safety.       
Pursuant to the reporting requirements of 10 CFR 50.73, attached is the subject Licensee Event Report concerning the automatic reactor trip due to loss of main feedwater for Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 1.

The contributing cause for this event was determined to be ANO-1 Operations management and crew leaders did not effectively meet expectations of providing optimal crew composition, maintain command and control, and oversee control room evolutions.

The following factors were identified through the various analysis techniques used to be related to the root and contributing causes associated with this event.

• Crew Composition

The scheduled on duty CRS had called in sick prior to the watch and a relief CRS assumed the watch who was subsequently designated as the team lead for placing the MFP in service.  A Shift Manager (SM) supporting activities assumed the CRS role for oversight.  The SM had not been involved with the Just In Time Training (JITT) for the startup and had not served in the CRS role in approximately one year.  In addition, the dayshift Shift Technical Advisor (STA) was relieved at 1600 for personal reasons and was replaced by an STA that had not attended JITT.

• Command and Control

The CRS did not challenge the basis of why the procedurally identified computer points were out of band or the ATC’s alternate monitoring method of using the OIT discharge pressure while manually operating the MFP.

The ATC extrapolated the differences between the two indications and assumed that as long as the monitored indications remained constant then discharge pressure was being controlled within the appropriate band per the earlier identified OIT indication.

The ATC did not communicate with the CRS or anyone on the crew that the computer display would be monitored to ensure that the discharge pressure remained within the acceptable band.

The Control Board Operator – Turbine (CBOT) performed a component verification versus a peer check as required by ANO Operations standards.
 • Procedure use and Adherence / Procedure Compliance
 Throughout the course of the shift, there were multiple examples of the ANO-1 Control Room team failing to implement administrative procedural requirements outlined in station and fleet procedure intended to minimize the potential for human error.
 • Formal Operations Communications
 Crew members (other than the ATC) were unaware of the failed pressure instrument which impacted the team’s ability to challenge pressure monitoring and control.  The CRS did not request updates from the ATC during the evolution regarding MFP discharge pressure. 

• Operator Knowledge and Training
 ATC operator did not identify that the setback feature was active which led to the raising of MFP speed to “control” RCS pressure.  As stated previously, several members of the crew did not attend JITT.

A performance analysis was conducted for the conceptual error on the part of the ATC regarding system operation.  Based on the review in the analysis, no training weaknesses were identified.  The evaluation determined that the evolution had been correctly performed in the past without identifying MFP discharge pressure as a critical parameter, the activity was not overly complex, and successful performance was within the fundamental skills and knowledge of a typical ATC.

Sunday, July 22, 2018

The Coverup: "NH bridges downgraded to POOR'

So now we are on the vaulted red list. From a fair to a poor grade. You know, why didn't the state give the Brattleboro Reformer a link to the report so everyone can read it. They could put the link in the article. A sign of terrible corruption is a lack of transparency...these guys got that disease bad.

"Has anyone asked why this bridge wasn't on the NH red list. This is how they apportion bridge funding to communities mostly. They were falsifying inspection.

So mike, why didn't it get on the red list. Because they would have no bases that any changes occurred. It would illuminate their systemic bridge inspections falsification game.  

Just like today, if they shutdown the bridge. I could ask the NHDOT what changes occurred on this new inspection compared to the last inspection. They-we wouldn't find any significant changes from the last inspection. The game would be up!!!"  
You can get the rate of increase with corrosion in this inspection report. I assume the last inspection was two or three years ago. The rating on this guy drastically declined from the last inspection. This guy is going to drastically decline to at least three grades past poor before the new bridge is operational. The certainty of capturing the true condition of the bridge I'd put at about 60%. There is massive corrosion on the bridge obscuring damage visibility and many critical areas don't allow for any inspections.  

Mr. Landry is deep in "normalization of deviance with these stone age bridges. This kind of damage is normal for age of these bridges. He is crazy?

It was probably my work that got this abysmal worsening downgrade to poor. Honestly the downgrade to poor is proof they are falsifying bridge inspection. The trend with corrosion rate has probably been stable for decades. But got them to go down more than on grade. If these bridges had a regular painting job cycle the corrosion would be minimal.

The name of the island is not "The Island". It's official name is Island Park. It was a ball park and Brattleboro they had ball room dancing and big bands there. Crowds listened to politicians of the day also.

The power of the Reformer and NHDOT to control their story is amazing. You don't  have a completing viewpoint to contradict NHDOT. Just from a single source and a totally complaint newspaper.

"Brattleboro Reformer: NH Bridges Downgraded to Poor"

July 21-22 2018

(sorry, I forgot to include page 1. This whole article wasn't on their internet site. It is interesting. Why did Audette write this article? Why not a regular reporter?   





So are the rocker or rolling bearings functional. As with the stationary bearings. These are critical for bridge safety. One is blocked by the new footing and the other one is terribly bend.





Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Brewing Russian Uranium Crisis With Our Grid? There Goes Our Nuclear Plants

(NYTs): U.S. Opens Inquiry Into Uranium Imports in Sign That Trade War Is Spreading

By Ana Swanson and Brad Plumer
July 18, 2018

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said on Wednesday that it was starting an investigation into uranium imports, potentially opening another front in an expansive trade war that has shaken alliances with countries around the world.

Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, said the department would investigate whether imported uranium ore and related products — key ingredients in America’s nuclear arsenal, and used in power production and nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers — threatened national security.

Uranium produced domestically now fills only 5 percent of America’s needs, Mr. Ross said, down from half in 1987.

The uranium inquiry is the latest of several trade-related steps the Trump administration has taken with an eye toward imposing stiff tariffs on imports. Levies have already been placed on washing machines, solar-power products, steel and aluminum from overseas, and on an array of Chinese goods. The administration is also considering whether to impose tariffs on imported cars and car parts.

The investigation announced on Wednesday was requested by two American uranium mining companies, UR-Energy and Energy Fuels. The firms say low-priced imports, especially those from competitors supported by foreign government subsidies, had caused them to slash jobs in recent years. Nuclear power producers have responded by warning that sharp restrictions on uranium imports could lead to the closure of plants.

“Despite uranium’s critical role in supporting clean electricity and national defense, imports of cheap, foreign state-subsidized uranium have swelled,” the companies wrote in a petition in January. Shares of both companies rose on Wednesday.

The uranium imported into the United States now comes
I wonder why the NYTs went with the order of the counties in the sentence? The assumption is Australia exports the most uranium to the USA. I get it now, they went by alphabetical order. It this order really fair? Russia exports the most uranium into the USA. Do you really think our nuclear plants are really powered by American uranium? This is a shot at Russia. Some high 90% of the uranium powering our nuclear plants are powered up by Russian uranium. This problem emanates from the megawatts to megaton (US and Russia's nuclear weapons non proliferation agreement. Basically we bought Russia's weapon uranium to fuel up our nuclear plant. It was really cheap fuel. I wrote about the extensively on my blog. So recently the MTW agreement transitioned to a commercial venture. We really never knew where the ratepayer billions went into Russia. They are really thugs. The world wide money grubbers owned this program. I always thought with US permission, newly mined uranium was put into this agreement. 

As far as the NTYs, over decades they were complicate with this crooked deal. I think the US utilities, the NYTs and our government coverup'ed how highly we used Russian uranium. It is a top secret coverup. The simple question is, for each US nuclear plant, what percentage of plant power comes from the Russian uranium? How much nuclear plant power nationwide comes from Russian uranium? Again in the high 90 percent. Basically the only reason our nuclear plants were profitable for the last few decades is they use cheap Russian uranium. 

Think of the grid and utility crisis we would be in if they cut off selling uranium to us? All the financial value with all the nuclear plants would disappear overnight. We would lose 20% of the grid capacity fairly quickly.   
mostly from Australia, Canada, Kazakhstan and Russia.

The nuclear power industry has warned that an aggressive attempt to restrict access to imported uranium could increase the cost of operating America’s nuclear power plants, many of which already struggle to compete with lower-price natural gas and renewable energy.

Nuclear power provides 20 percent of America’s electricity, a fraction that is set to wane in the coming years: Since 2013, six of the nation’s nuclear reactors have shut down permanently and 11 others are scheduled to be retired by 2025.

President Trump, who often talks about the benefits of nuclear power, has ordered the energy secretary, Rick Perry, to “prepare immediate steps” to stem the closure of reactors. But new trade barriers on nuclear fuel couldfurther strain the industry.

“Maintaining all the elements of the domestic uranium fuel supply is in our national interest and we urge the federal government to take appropriate action, without harming the fleet of nuclear reactors,” Maria G. Korsnick, head of the Nuclear Energy Institute, said in a statement.

The companies that requested the trade case asked that the Commerce Department limit imports so that 25 percent of the uranium used in the United States would be produced domestically. The companies argue that doing so would pose minimal burdens on nuclear power plants.

The companies that operate the plants dispute that idea, pointing to a recent study from NorthBridge Group, a consulting firm, that looked at the impact of such a quota, which would require domestic producers to expand their operations sharply in just a few years. Doing so would cost the nuclear power industry $500 million to $800 million per year, the study found, increasing the average cost of electricity from nuclear reactors by around 2 to 3 percent.

“We sympathize with the plight of uranium suppliers,” Ms. Korsnick said on Wednesday. “However, NEI does not support the implementation of quotas as described in the petition. Potential remedies could put even more generating units at risk for premature closure.”

It is unclear what the Trump administration will ultimately propose with regard to imported uranium. If it determines that unfair trade practices are hurting domestic mining companies, the Commerce Department can recommend a broad range of remedies, from strict quotas to temporary tariffs. Such a decision would be expected to play out over several months, as the department continues its investigation and holds public hearings.

The investigation into uranium imports — as with those involving steel, aluminum cars and car parts — is being conducted under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, a legal provision that gives the president broad power to impose tariffs on imports that he determines pose a threat to national security.

The use of a national security-related law to place tariffs on close military allies like Canada and the European Union has been a source of contention. Multiple countries have retaliated by imposing tariffs on American goods and have challenged the Trump administration’s measures at the World Trade Organization.

In particular, trade experts say that the administration’s imposition of tariffs for national security reasons — a matter the World Trade Organization does not closely regulate — opens a potential loophole that other countries could use to put their own levies on a range of products.

“If the U.S. has rewritten the rules of the WTO system to say you can do anything you want if it’s in your national security interests, be prepared for every country in the world to come up with a new definition of what is its critical national security interest,” Rufus Yerxa, the president of the National Foreign Trade Council, which represents exporters in the United States, said.

Congress has considered taking action to stay the administration’s use of the national security provision to impose tariffs. Republican leaders have shown limited support for such a move so far, but that could change as the administration’s trade measures become more far-reaching.

“If the administration continues forward with its misguided and reckless reliance on tariffs, I will work to advance trade legislation to curtail presidential trade authority,” Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah and the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said Tuesday. “I am discussing legislative options with colleagues both on and off the Finance Committee and I will continue to do so.”