Building a $200 million bridge to nowhere ? with your money

Manchester Union Leader ^ | February 3, 2005 | John Stossel

[Ethan_Allen1777]

Damn big spending democrats. Whats that.....?

[Non-Sequitur]

I never thought I would live to see the day when the Republicans managed to make the Democrats look like the party of fiscal responsibility.

[Cagey]

Our government, from local town committees to Washington, has turned into a Pay to Play campground and statesmen are in short supply.

[Lockbar]

I was thinking this was about the Rapist and Former President's new Porno Museum in Little Rock.

[Puddleglum]

If we lower taxes, maybe they'll have less "play money" to spend.

The "get our shared of the Federal Pie" scramble that our Congress has become (well, and always has been) is disgusting. We have to shrink the pie AND make it taste bad. Don't know how to do the latter.

[BlackbirdSST]

I never thought I would live to see the day when the Republicans managed to make the Democrats look like the party of fiscal responsibility.

That transition has been both short and swift. I'm known to hold the opinion that there isn't a bit of difference in the two party cartel, and have been flamed again and again. Yet, hardly a day goes by that I'm not justified in having that opinion. Blackbird.

[sure_fine]

And in any case, an economist who studied the matter for the state says that once the construction workers finished their work and went home, the bridge would probably create about 40 new jobs. Two hundred million dollars for 40 jobs is $5 million per job. I hope they’re great jobs.

that can mean alot more than the reporter is stating, but I have to have another cup before I respond further...ping

[snowsislander]

You should check out the "Clyburn Connector", (connecting Lone Star, S.C. to Rimini, S.C. -- total population of both places together is less than 2,000) sponsored by Representative Clyburn:

					Briggs-DeLaine-Pearson Connector Rimini and Lone Star, South Carolina Cost to Federal Taxpayers: $100 million Proposal and Savings SCDOT should not pursue the unnecessary Connector, which would cost an estimated $100 million. Rep. James Clyburn, the most vocal supporter of the project, has indicated his intention to fund this project fully with federal funds. Contacts Jane Lareau, South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, (843) 723-8035, janel@scccl.org Angela Viney, South Carolina Wildlife Federation, (803) 256-0670, angela@scwf.org The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) proposes building the Briggs-DeLaine-Pearson Connector (Connector), previously known as the Calhoun/Clarendon Causeway, Calhoun Clarendon Connector, James E. Clyburn Connector, and Briggs-Delaine Connector. The Connector would include a 9.6-mile new or expanded roadway and 2.8-mile bridge between the towns of Lone Star (2000 population: 1,066) and Rimini (2000 population: 817), approximately 40 miles southeast of Columbia, South Carolina. The new bridge would span the upper reaches of Lake Marion-known as Sparkleberry Swamp-and its associated floodplain. The Connector would be the second-longest bridge in South Carolina. In February 2003, SCDOT released a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Connector. In March 2003, Gov. Mark Sanford and four members of the South Carolina congressional delegation-Sen. Lindsey Graham and Reps. Jim DeMint, Joe Wilson, and Gresham Barrett-requested a cost-benefit study from U.S. Department of Transportation before the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) made its final decision. They expressed belief that this would be necessary for the public to make a fully informed decision on the project. This important analysis was never performed, and FHWA issued a Record of Decision in favor of the Connector in June 2003. Taxpayer Concerns Construction would cost an estimated $110 million, and SCDOT and Rep. James Clyburn-a vocal supporter of the project-have indicated that this project would be completed entirely with federal dollars, with no state or local match. In April 2004, the U.S. House of Representatives earmarked $14 million for the Connector in its version of the transportation bill reauthorization. In 1998, Congress earmarked $6.5 million for the Connector as a "demonstration project" under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). An economic cost-benefit analysis conducted for the Southern Environmental Law Center found that expenditures on the Connector would exceed expected project benefits by more than $48 million.(1) Despite these findings, SCDOT still refuses to analyze the project's economic costs and expected benefits. In 2003, NBC News featured the Connector in its "Fleecing of America" segment. Two nearby bridges-the U.S. Route 601 Congaree River bridge and the Interstate 95 bridge over Lake Marion-already provide adequate crossings for area traffic. The Connector would do little to improve mobility and economic conditions in Calhoun, Clarendon, Orangeburg, and Sumter counties. SCDOT's July 2000 feasibility study found that the Connector would shorten travel times between the towns of Orangeburg and Sumter by just three to 10 minutes, and would not trigger significant economic development. On the contrary, the road could undermine local businesses that rely on revenues from visitors to natural areas threatened by the road. Local Community Concerns South Carolina is struggling to maintain its existing roads and bridges. SCDOT has warned that 2,000 of the state's highway bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, and that 100 or more of those are in the four-county region of the proposed project. SCDOT has identified $56.9 billion in state transportation needs over the next twenty years-a substantial portion of which is for highway and bridge maintenance-but at current funding rates, the state will fall $30.6 billion short of that total. One report calls the funding shortfall for transportation projects in South Carolina, "particularly daunting."(2) Environmental Concerns The Connector would damage the Upper Santee Swamp, which provides critical habitat for wildlife and waterfowl. The Upper Santee is one of the largest tracts of unbroken habitat in central South Carolina. It links the Santee National Wildlife Refuge to Congaree National Park and is a key component of the Santee Cooper Lakes Focus Area, a unit of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. This area attracts significant numbers of visitors who come to bird watch, hunt, fish, canoe, and experience the solace of one of the last great wild places in South Carolina. Article published June 2, 2004 ___ (1) Dr. Asad Khattak, "Section III: Transportation Study" in James E. Clyburn Connector-Environmental Impact Statement Comments, Southern Environmental Law Center, March 31, 2003. (2) James B. London, Ellen W. Saltzman, John C. Skinner and H. Günsel Günaydin, "Transportation Funding Options for the State of South Carolina 2003-2022," Oct. 2003.

[avg_freeper]

I badly paraphrase PJ O'Rourke here but:

Democrats belong to the party that says that government is the solution to all life's problems and promise to give you everything.

Republicans on the other hand, are in the party that claims that government is fatally flawed and corrupt. When they're elected into power they prove it through their actions.

[Vaquero]

"has anybody seen the bridge.....where's that confounded bridge."

back a decade ago they widened the worlds biggest parking lot. The Long Island Expressway. at one intersection they replaced a perfectly functioning clover leaf intersecting the L.I.E. with Sagtikos parkway. by replacing this clover leaf ( inexpensively made my carving it out of the ground), with 2 new overpasses to solve a problem that didnt exist. Now the old clover leaf could have been updated to handle the traffic as there was plenty of land to accomplish this. but this would not have lined any pockets. so.....now we have these 2 lovely edifices that the Bond Issue, I voted against, paid for....with MY money.

God bless NY State.

ps. the widening of the LIE took place and is basically useless, becasue hardley anyone rides in the manditory HOV lane that was the final outcome of this white elephant.

God Bless you Mr. Cuomo, God Bless you Mr. Pataki.

[lowbridge]

bump

[decimon]

back a decade ago they widened the worlds biggest parking lot.

You neglect to say it took a decade to do. Ditto the work on the Queensborough Bridge.

[EQAndyBuzz]

Robert Byrd did it for years. West Virginia was renamed Byrdland about 30 years ago.

However, that is still no excuse.

[Non-Sequitur]

... sponsored by Representative Clyburn

Sadly there seem to be just as many, if not more wasteful projects pushed by Republicans as by Democrats. When it comes to looting the treasury there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference between the two parties.

[LibertarianInExile]

"The Democrats are the party of government activism, the party that says government can make you richer, smarter, taller, and get the chickweed out of your lawn. Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then get elected and prove it." — P.J. O'Rourke

[IronJack]

One of Sen. Bob Kerry's last pork projects before he retired was an appropriation for a pedestrian foot bridge from nowhere on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River to nowhere on the Iowa side. It's kind of like the Robert Byrd Expressway in West Virginia that goes miles and miles into nowhere, then dead ends.

But George Bush is "irresponsible" for cutting taxes and producing a budget deficit.

[AlbertWang]

I'm known to hold the opinion that there isn't a bit of difference in the two party cartel, and have been flamed again and again. Yet, hardly a day goes by that I'm not justified in having that opinion.

I mostly agree, except the Dems spend the cash on social workers and hippies, the Republicans spend on engineers. If you put both parties in a barrel, and pulled them out at random on a dark night, the only way you could tell a dimes worth of difference is the Democrats smell like dope smoke......

[7.62 x 51mm]

Looting the treasury is a sport thoroughly enjoyed by both political parties.

[Condor51]

"Rep. Young says the bridge is worth the price because it would create jobs in Alaska."

Construction Projects "Create Jobs" has to be the all time #1 Urban Legend

They don't - period. ALL construction projects are built by contractors who..... are you ready..... ALREADY HAVE the required personnel on the payroll! Otherwise they wouldn't be qualified to BID on the project as they wouldn't be able to furnish a Performance & Payment Bond. And even if an 'under staffed' contractor was the low bidder, before the contract was actually awarded, they would be further checked out to see if they were capable of DOING the project.

This isn't the 1930's and we AIN'T building the Hoover Dam and we DON'T hang a 'Help Wanted' sign on the front gate any longer. Then there's the little matter of the trade unions but that's another story.

Bottom line, Construction Projects only create work for EXISTING contractors with an EXISTING work force and who are looking for a 'back log' (future work) for projects to commence when their existing projects are completed and/or are in the final stages of completion.

Granted some 'workers' go from contractor to contractor as jobs end and or start - but those are EXISTING workers. No new jobs "are created". (btw, with that type of personnel, the term 'worker' is being generous)