America's Infrastructure Is Well Past Its Prime

HISTORY Inspects the Nation to See What Needs to Be Fixed

INSPECTOR AMERICA

Premieres Sunday, April 17 at 10 p.m. on HISTORY(R)

April 7, 2011 - New York, New York - America has one of the greatest infrastructures in history. Roadways, dams, tunnels and bridges were built to last. But over the decades, the infrastructure that helped our country grow hasn't kept up with the times - from underground sewers built during the Gold Rush to highways designed for 1925 traffic. Now, HISTORY sets out to inspect the country to see what is up to code and what needs to be fixed.

Timothy Galarnyk, an infrastructure safety inspector with over 35 years of experience, hosts INSPECTOR AMERICA, a new one-hour series premiering Sunday, April 17 at 10 p.m. on HISTORY. Galarnyk's initial sweep takes him to six American locations that have infrastructure challenges. He uses the tools of his trade to evaluate the structures, gauge dangers and offer opinions on how to deal with it. Galarnyk also highlights the good news and positive projects in the area.

"America's infrastructure is in need of attention," said Dirk Hoogstra, SVP of Development and Programming, HISTORY. "But this series isn't about pointing fingers. Local officials all over the country are doing their best to fix degrading infrastructures; some of which go back to the turn of the last century and this show can be an advocate for them. These structures are living history and this series is evaluating engineering technologies past and present through a modern lens."

Galarnyk's approach is to get as close as he can to a structure, to discover the hidden signs of decay that could produce a disaster on bridges, freeways and the rest of our shared groundwork. He also uncovers the history of how infrastructure works and how it becomes dilapidated over the decades and outlives its usefulness.

Upcoming episodes of INSPECTOR AMERICA look at Minneapolis/St. Paul, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Las Vegas and Seattle. Each has a unique history. Each was built on unique terrain with tools, technology, and materials of an earlier era. Their infrastructures are breaking�and now is the time to pay attention.

Timothy Galarnyk is a leading expert in the creation of programs that manage the risks associated with construction projects of all types. He has worked on thousands of highway, rail and bridge projects. He is also an experienced bridge and railway inspector specializing in construction analysis and safety and identifying defects and construction problems.

INSPECTOR AMERICA is produced for HISTORY by Original Productions, a FremantleMedia Company. Thom Beers and Philip D. Segal are Executive Producers and Jeff Conroy is Co-Executive Producer for Original Productions. Mike Stiller is Executive Producer for HISTORY.

HISTORY(R) and HISTORY HD(R) are the leading destinations for revealing, award-winning original non-fiction series and event specials that connect history with viewers in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. Programming covers a diverse variety of historical genres ranging from military history to contemporary history, technology to natural history, as well as science, archaeology and pop culture. Among the network's program offerings are hit series such as American Pickers, Ax Men, Brad Meltzer's Decoded, Ice Road Truckers, Top Gear, Pawn Stars and Top Shot, as well as acclaimed specials including America the Story of Us, WWII in HD, 102 Minutes That Changed America, The President's Book of Secrets and Life After People. HISTORY has earned four Peabody Awards, seven Primetime Emmy(R) Awards, 12 News & Documentary Emmy(R) Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History(R) campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. Take a Veteran to School Day is the network's signature initiative connecting America's schools and communities with veterans from all wars. The HISTORY website, located at www.history.com, is the leading online resource for all things history, featuring over 20,000 videos, images, audio clips, articles and interactive features that allow visitors to dig deeper into a broad range of thousands of historical topics.