http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/08/09/bridges/index.html
Accidentally posted too soon- Gravina Island Bridge
Hell’s teeth. I have no answer to the OP except to say “I hope not”.
I think the bridge project had already suffered a major blow. The budget for FY 2007 has already been passed AFAIK, so if it had gotten through that intact then there’s not really much that could’ve been done about it by the incoming congress.
What’s great is I think Ted Stevens promised to resign from public office if his precious bridge isn’t built or if money was taken away from his bridge and sent to Katrina reconstruction. Ted Stevens and Robert Byrd really disgust me, they’ve been patting each other on the back and logrolling pork into appropriations bills for decades now and the taxpayers get to suffer the consequences. Although I will say most of Byrd’s “pork” has at least gone to things that have actual applicability and not just mindless and pointless construction projects.
On the contrary. BOTH bridges are alive and well. The present outgoing goober has sworn that his last act in office will be to sign the contract with a construction company to lock in funds for this boondoggle. Guess where he’s from. Yes, that’s right, Ketchikan. The other BTNW is the Knik Arm crossing here in Anchorage, a much larger pork project that may cost taxpayers upwards of 1.5 billion. It would link Anchorage with Point McKenzie, an unpopulated moose pasture on the other side of the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet. There are no roads over there of any significance, or any other infrastructure for that matter. Just land belonging to speculators. The legislature created the Knik Arm Bridge Authority and populated it with Republican cronies (headed by the former and hugely incompetent mayor of Anchorage), giving them virtually unlimited powers to grab private property and perform other functions without oversight. They promptly gave themselves huge pay raises. Do you have a headache yet?
Taking the earmark for the Bridge to Nowhere out of the transportation bill never killed the bridge. It simply meant that the federal government did not mandate the bridge be built. The state of Alaska is still free to use the federal funds any way it sees fit, and Alaska has decided to build the bridge with the money.
Well, the Knik Arm Bridge will sure make my cousin happy. He’s one of the owners of Totem Realty, and has a cabin on some land on McKenzie Point. But I still think it’s a stupid boondoggle.
Such a shame, I was so looking forward to that episode of “Extreme Engineering”.
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The budget resolution passed, but not the appropriations bills, which actually fund the government. Those will be dealt with in a lame-duck session in a few weeks.
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The bridge was not part of any appropriations bill. Instead, it was part of the bill that reauthorizes transportation programs. This is usually filled with earmarks because it also authorizes the transportation trust fund, which is off-budget and therefore not subject to appropriations bills.
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States get money from this trust fund based on a formula, and can use those funds for a variety of things. So even though the bridge was eliminated from the transportation bill, Alaska can (and will) fund it with its federal money.
In a related success (:rolleyes: ) for Alaskan politicians, the current Federal Transportation bill is named the “Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users”, known by the acronym SAFETEA-LU. The LU was added at the request of Representative Don Young (R-Alaska) who was the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman. This is because his wife’s name is Lu and he wanted a bill named for her. (Link – Relevant part is about 2/3 of the way down.)
It must be nice when you can have the power to do things in such a big way.
That shows you waht’s wrong with this country-blow millions of dollars on useless projects-and pass the costs on to the next generation! Wonderful “leadership” being exhibited here!
That’s only half of it. There’s a serious proposal on the table to name the bridge “Don Young’s Way”. Arrogant prick.
And to think that the completion of the 2nd Ave. subway in NYC (that would serve tens of thousands every day) becomes a lightning rod for political opposition. The porkers in Washington worry more about a few Alaskans having to endure a 7 minute ferry ride than the sardine cans that are better known as the Lexington Ave. Line. The Lex Line should be renamed the “frottage” line.
There is no ferry. It’s not necessary. There’s a perfectly good 75 mph highway that connects Anchorage to the Mat-Su Valley. It’s about a 40 minute drive (depending on which little burg you’re from) and is somewhat heavily used at rush hour. If there’s an accident, the drive can stretch to two hours during rush hour, but that’s infrequent.
Understand that the towns in the Valley that this bridge would service have small populations. The entire Mat-Su Borough (which is HUGE at 24,682 square miles) has a population of about 75,000, most of whom would rather eat raw slugs than ever come to Anchorage. Wasilla is the state joke, and Palmer (the two largest towns, pops: 5400 and 4500) is a sleepy farm town that few bother to visit unless it’s State Fair time.
The bridge would cut off about zero minutes from the commute and would have a hefty toll, which Alaskans, with their handout mentality, would feel was taxation without refund. Any questions?
Or the I-710 extension in Los Angeles (which, granted, is more a victim of clueless NIMBYs…)