The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "bridge projects" ...
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Earmarks To Nowhere
Just when you thought you had read every outrageous story about congressional pork, last year USA TODAY revealed $13 billion in "orphan earmarks"- highway spending directed to pet projects but never spent. For states, this uncooked pork came at a tremendous cost: almost $7.5 billion of the earmarked money was taken directly out of the state's direct highway funding- meaning states literally lost billions they could have spent to improve or build bridges and highways.
Tags: pork barreling; earmarks; highway; money; orphan earmarks
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Fabricated and Flawed Integrity Tests Threaten Public Safety and an Iconic $6.3 Billion Bridge
The investigation found that a technician who tested the structural integrity of the other new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge fudnation had fabricated results on othe structures and committed numberous testing errors, callling to question the stability of California's costliest and most important public works project ever, among other freeway structures statewide.
Tags: bridges; San-Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge; freeway structures
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Why 66?
"The newspaper found that government-commissioned studies of Interstate highway 66 (in Southern Kentucky) are either outdated or flawed, and the key findings of those studies have been distorted by project supporters to buttress their case for the road."
Tags: I-66; transportation dollars; bridge projects; government-comissioned studies
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Broken Bridges: Did City Hall's plan to fight gangs bankroll a gangster?
Ex-gang member and alleged Mexico Mafia member Hector Marroquin, Sr. founded a gang-prevention program in Los Angeles in 1997 that was supported by nearly $1.5 million from the City COuncil. Using FOIA requests and over 50 interviews, L.A. Weekly reporters Jeffrey Anderson and Christine Pelisek point out that the program had no oversight, no means of measuring its success in keeping children out of gangs. They also uncovered nepotism, and evidence suggesting Marroquin was a member of the Mexican Mafia while he ran the anti-gang program.
Tags: L.A. Bridges; gang intervention programs; Hector Marroquin; Networks Organizing for Gang Unity and Neighborhood Safety; N.O. G.U.N.S; L.A. County Probation Department; Mexican Mafia; drug trade; FOIA; Community Development Department; DEA; Drug Enforcement Administration; L.A. Sherriff's Department; Diversified Strategies for Organizing; People Works, Inc.; Central Recovery Development Project; Toberman Settlement House;
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Bay Bridge: A Special Investigation
This investigation of the Bay Bridge centered on allegations made by 20 welders who worked on the construction of a new Bay Bridge span -- the largest ongoing transportation public works project in the country. The workers alleged they were pressured to conceal substandard welds in the bridge's foundations and that they witnessed the contractor concealing injuries from health and safety regulators. The investigation continues, with pending results of the attorney general investigation, lawsuits and the state audit.
Tags: Bay Bridge; transportation; corruption; Department of Transportation
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Expressway Investigation
In April 2004, a pier from a 350 million dollar Florida highway project collapsed. A previous investigation had already shown that some of the construction had been done incorrectly. After the collapse, the investigation resumed and reporters uncovered "more construction mistakes, inadequate ground testing methods and inadequate oversight of the project."
Tags: traffic; bridges; construction; concrete; contracts; bridges; engineering; FOIA
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Price of neglect adds up
This investigation revealed how Lee County siphoned off nearly $50 million in tolls from Sanibel Causeway bridges to pay for other projects and now faces a $105 million bill to replace the bridges. The bridges have deteriorated so rapidly over the years because of a lack of maintenance. Motorists will pay for the new bridges; tolls have doubled to pay the expense. Following the story, county commissioners demanded an audit of the Sanibel bridge accounts. Sanibel officials are moving forward with a lawsuit against the county charging mismanagement of bridge maintenance.
Tags: bridge maintenance; tolls; bridges; bridge database; CAR; computer-assisted reporting
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Deception at the Delaware river Joint Toll Bridge Commission
Reporters from The Morning Call look at how government officials benefitted from raising the toll hike for bridges connecting New Jersey to Pennsylvania. The heavy increase in toll for these bridges was on the pretext of having developing a fund for rebuilding the bridges in case of any terrorist attacks. But as these reporters found out the government officials were actually playing on people's fear, increasing toll rates and using the money for economic development projects that would increase their power.
Tags: Government officials; toll bridges; bridges across New Jersey and Pennsylvania; terrorist attacks
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ABC News Special 9/11 -- Nuclear Smuggling Project
Broadcast on the anniversary of 9/11, an ABC investigation illustrates the threat of nuclear terrorism by showing how a shipment of radioactive material can easily pass through the U.S. customs. The segment shows correspondent Brian Ross traveling with a suitcase of depleted uranium across Eastern Europe, which he later shipped from Istanbul, Turkey, to the United States. The test material cleared the U.S. customs and was delivered to a warehouse at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Tags: nuclear weapons; radiation; radioactive material; nuclear energy; safety; security; health; Osama bin Laden; al Qaida; TAPE; TRANSCRIPT
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The Bay Bridge: Where The Fault Lies
A three-day examination of how one of California's most visible and expensive public works projects foundered, and the cost to taxpayers as a result of the foul-ups.
Tags: public works projects; Bay Bridge; Loma Prieta earthquake; California Department of Transportation; Caltrans