Lars Larson comments on this week’s news that the Oregon and Washington transportation officials have agreed to pay upriver users $140 million to mitigate ‘a bridge too low’
Lars Larson
The Northwest Nonsense
Ready for the latest insane waste of your tax dollars?
Plans for the latest and soon to fail Interstate Bridge replacement propose to build a span more than 60 feet too low … and, just announced this week, it plans to bribe Northwest businesses.
The bribe? It’s $140 million to compensate for the business they’ll lose when the brand-new, same-size-as-the-old-one, boondoggle bridge blocks the river.
Federal funding has disappeared.
Oregon and Washington must pay for most of it and they’re just about flat broke.
The Coast Guard has still not given approval and that’s absolutely required.
Public opposition grows. The light rail line, all two miles of it, now ranks as the single most expensive on earth at more than $1 billion a mile.
Initial daily ridership projections, a lie from the start, keep edging down from tens of thousands of daily riders, to just a few.
Does anyone in Northwest leadership have the spine to pull the plug on this $10 billion joke … or do we just tolerate ODOT’s “contractor from hell” model of lowballing the front end estimate and then doubling or tripling the price when it’s too late to pull out?
Also read:
- VIDEO: WA diesel hits record $6.53, crushing truckers and school budgets
With diesel nearing $6.53 per gallon in Washington, trucking businesses and school districts now confront sharply higher fuel expenses affecting budgets and workers. - Opinion: In plain sight – yielding to pedestrians
Drivers often fail to see pedestrians due to inattentional blindness, which highlights the need for more focused awareness at intersections and stronger safety practices. - Expect delays on SR 14 in Vancouver for guardrail repairs Wednesday
State Route 14 travelers in Vancouver should plan for morning delays as WSDOT will close two eastbound lanes for guardrail repairs, affecting mileposts 6.0 to 7.0. - Overnight closure planned on westbound SR 14 Camas Slough Bridge Tuesday
WSDOT crews will close westbound SR 14 at Exit 14 in Camas to collect bridge deck samples and plan future repairs; detours will be in effect. - Opinion: Stay in your lane – seriously, it’s the law
Drivers must choose the nearest lane when turning in Washington, and left turns bring added risk. Even with signals, every driver must help prevent crashes by following law.
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