Falling Apart At The Seams.

The dopes on right-wing radio and economic survivalists such as the National Taxpayers Union might have a tougher time arguing against President-elect Obama's call for increased infrastructure spending today, but I'm sure they'll continue to try.

From the AP:

Rescuers scrambled helicopters and boats to pull motorists from frigid floodwaters unleashed by a massive water main break Tuesday on a commuter road just outside Washington.

Television images showed two people in a minivan climbing into a basket lowered from a helicopter overhead. A boat also was used to rescue motorists from waters at least 4 feet deep. At least one person could be seen sitting in a two-door vehicle as the flood gushed past.

About a dozen people had been rescued from their vehicles, Montgomery County fire department spokesman Pete Piringer said. Piringer said crews were having trouble getting to people because the water was moving so swiftly.

He said several of those rescued were treated for hypothermia. The temperature was around 20 degrees in the area, the National Weather Service said.

The 66-inch water main broke about 8 a.m. on River Road near the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, authorities said.

From the Washington Post:

The break, near the Congressional Country Club, sent "a four-foot wall of water" onto River Road, Piringer told CNN. "About 12 to 15 vehicles became enveloped in this wall of water."

The pipe is 44 years old, WSSC spokesman Jim Neustadt said. Both age and the recent cold snap could have contributed to it breaking. Neustadt said that Montgomery County fire officials had ruled it was not safe for WSSC workers to enter the deep and rapidly moving water in order to turn off the valve. In order to halt the flow of water, he said, "we have to back it up to another valve up the line."