# Infrastructure Report Card

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infrastructure-report-card/553310>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [September 10, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infrastructure-report-card/553310 "2010-09-10T17:38:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infrastructure-report-card/553310/1 "2010-09-10T17:38:18Z")

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We’re doing great! We got a [D](http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/)! Hooray for us!

Oh wait, D does not stand for “Delightful”? What about “Damn we’re great”? Not that either, huh.

Maybe it really stands for “Damn that’s Depressing”. ☹

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**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infrastructure-report-card/553310/2 "2010-09-10T19:47:00Z")

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I’m surprised that bridges scored a C. Thought it would have been lower.

A D+ for energy generation and transmission sounds about right, on average. Just yesterday, a[San Francisco suburb blew up](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/10/BAVQ1FBPMD.DTL) when a 60 year old gas main exploded. Over three dozen houses are simply gone and at least four people are dead.

How many other 60 year old gas mains are there in this country, and how long has it been since anyone’s inspected them?

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**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infrastructure-report-card/553310/3 "2010-09-10T20:38:07Z")

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In 1986 an underground gasoline pipeline operating at 1500 psi beneath a residential neighborhood ruptured about half a mile from my high school. Summer school was cancelled that day when the thousands of gallons of spilled gasoline ignited, burning down a block of houses and killing a kid and his parent who were delivering newspapers that morning.

People were shocked to discover that a high-pressure gasoline pipeline went through a neighborhood (and by a school) like this, and appalled that the operators were so slow to discover the leak and shut down the pumping station. The San Bruno natural gas pipeline fire sounds like much the same affair…