"Bridges to Nowhere" is a cute, meaningless sound bite

myself | 16 Nov 2005 | redpoll

[redpoll]

I've had it with the phrase "Bridges to Nowhere." Someone has to speak up for Alaskans.

I've lived in Ketchikan and the Mat-Su valley, two of the places next to "nowhere." Ketchikan is a thin strip of roadway on a mountain cliff next to the ocean. The bridge would connect Ketchikan to the island next door, which has many square miles of flat land that could be developed for the benefit of the community. The Knik Arm bridge connects Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, with the Mat-Su valley, Alaska's fastest growing community. Calling the Knik Arm bridge a bridge to "nowhere" is either stupidity or willful disregard of the facts.

Do these places deserve more roads? Look at a map of Alaska. Look at the towns. Now look at the roads connecting them. Most of the state has no roads at all. The village where I'm typing this is 280 miles from the nearest road. As a result, a trip to Wal-Mart costs me $500 on a small plane to Fairbanks. A gallon of milk costs $12 at the local grocery store. Gas is running at $4.20 a gallon. A road between my village and Fairbanks would radically reduce the cost of living, as well as help connect us to the rest of the economy of North America. Of course, building the road would mean a road to "nowhere."

The critics of the bridges have their arguments backwards. Gravina Island, located next to Ketchikan, has 50 residents because the only way to get there right now is by boat. Since there is no infrastructure, there are no residents. You need to build the infrastructure first to get the residents. The Knik Arm bridge will connect a relatively unpopulated section of the Mat-Su valley to Anchorage; it will also turn a 60-minute commute from Wasilla into a 20-minute drive. You don't often find commuters "nowhere."

There is a long tradition in this country of building infrastructure with government funding to boost local economies. The Cumberland Road went "nowhere" at first. The railroads in the 19th century went through vast expanses of "nowhere." The Golden Gate bridge connected San Francisco to "nowhere," the undeveloped sections of Marin County. The Mackinac Straits bridge went from lower Michigan to "nowhere." A lot of the interstate highway system goes "nowhere."

Sure, there are boondoggles, from the C and O Canal to the poorly built dikes around New Orleans. On the other hand, there's Hoover Dam and the George Washington Bridge. A good argument could be made that one of the things that government does well is build infrastructure; certainly the founders had that in mind when one of the specific duties of government was the construction of "post roads" and other infrastructure to help commerce.

It would help Ketchikan to have a bridge connecting that city to Gravina Island. It would help Southeast to have a road connecting most of the towns there, too. It would help Alaska to have roads connecting Nome and Bethel and Barrow to Fairbanks, too. (The Knik Arm bridge would cut one hour off the trip between Anchorage and Fairbanks.)

Of course, if nothing is done, no roads are build, no bridges allowed to connect our communities with the rest of the state, most of the state will remain "nowhere." Villages will languish in poverty. Economies will have nowhere to grow. Notice that the first thing that they had to do when oil was developed at Prudhoe Bay was build a road. The road went "nowhere" until the trucks rolled up the road, built the pipeline, and put in the oil derricks.

These are not "bridges to nowhere." They're a needed part of the development of the state. We could argue about cost and design, certainly, but the need for more roads, bridges, and infrastructure here is obvious.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

The Causeway and Crescent City Connection in New Orleans are both structures built and paid for with toll fares, plus we have toll ferries up and down the river.

ROFLMAO ... and who paid for hundreds of miles of levees so people could live below sea level in Plaquemines, St Bernard, Orleans, and Jefferson Parish?

[Chena]

I've read this thread and am very thankful that not everyone is completely ignorant on issues that face Alaska. You have all made excellent points and intelligent comments that are based on facts. I do get sick and tired of people spouting off the same old lines they picked up out of their local liberal newspaper, or favorite MSM choice.

Anyhow, thanks for putting some reasonable perspective on this issue. It's just as refreshing as the snow coming down right now. ;)

[Chena]

Then fight for it. Honestly, I haven't seen any one from alaska fighting for local control of your land. I've seen the amount of land in federal hands (there's a map online of it) and alaska is obscene. Yet you're the first person I've ever heard of suggesting you take it back - which you should. Maybe it's a big deal in alaska, but I can guarantee you almost nobody outside of there knows that it's an issue. So you need to make it one. In fact, I was thinking of this a few weeks ago as a way around the rinos and ANWR - give back a large portion (or whatever you can to start) to alaska, and let it develop it as it chooses. That's what should happen, but instead we have a continuation of a broken system where the bad things are done and justified by saying bad things have been done in the past.

Thank you so much for THAT post! I wasn't going to post a comment to you but now....well, I just have to. You sure stepped in it this time. This post of yours confirms what I've been thinking about you. You do NOT know a hill of beans about Alaska, it's people, the fight they've been fighting in what seems like FOREVER. So, because you don't know much about Alaska, perhaps it would behoove you to stop slamming Alaska and learn a bit more before you speak.

[Species8472]

We have been fighting. The list of broken promises goes back to Statehood. Google ANILCA, Alaska Native land Claims, Prudhoe Bay etc. Too often we Alaskans have been depicted as the greedy, blue eyed Arabs of the north. Add to that the international environmental organizations with hundreds of millions of dollars and slick lawyers in their employ and you can see what an uphill battle we have. Instead of fighting us and buying into a liberal line of ignorance, conservatives should help us work to de-fund the environmental extremists that are blocking our progress.

[thackney]

Grow up. If you want a bridge to connect you to Anchorage, get Alaska to pay for it.

Why doesn't America allow Alaska to "grow up"? Why is the majority of our land held by the federal government instead of allowing us to buy it and develop it? Why are we considered the Lower 48 Nation Park? Less than 1% of Alaska is privately owned and our property cost are very high because of this.

[hinckley buzzard]

I've lived in Ketchikan and the Mat-Su valley, two of the places next to "nowhere."

Let's get one thing straight right from the start. Ketchikan and the Mat-Su valley are not "next to nowhere." They ARE nowhere. And if you choose to live 280 miles from a road, that's your privilege, but don't expect the rest of this beleagured nation to shell out millions so you can get to WalMart.

[cynicom]

I spent some time in Alaska, saw much of it, met a lot of people. A handout is not what they are looking for, rather, a handup. Alaskans are a very hardy and self reliant people.

Pork is only pork when it is someone else's hog.

[PAR35]

There is a long tradition in this country of building infrastructure with government funding to boost local economies. ... The railroads in the 19th century went through vast expanses of "nowhere." The Golden Gate bridge connected San Francisco to "nowhere," the undeveloped sections of Marin County.

How much federal tax money went into each of those projects. Try Zero.

The Mackinac Straits bridge went from lower Michigan to "nowhere."

Do you know the population of Sault Ste. Marie MI/ON? Around 100,000. How many metro areas in Alaska are that big?

The Knik Arm bridge might or might not make sense. (Build it and slap a toll on it the way they have to do with highways here, and the market will answer that quesion.) The other bridge is clearly a pork barrel boondoggle that will carry Knik Arm down with it.

[festus]

What we would prefer is to allow us to develop our natural resources. If we could log our trees, fish our fish, hunt our game, use our coal, dig the gold and iron and drill our OIL, we would never need a dime of Federal money.

I have to hand it to you. You've got a point there thats for sure.

[redhead]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! Standing ovation here for putting my thoughts into words so beautifully!!

[Chena]

I spent some time in Alaska, saw much of it, met a lot of people. A handout is not what they are looking for, rather, a handup. Alaskans are a very hardy and self reliant people. Pork is only pork when it is someone else's hog.

I hope you had a wonderful time in Alaska. You bet we are hardy and self-reliant. As an Alaskan, I thank you for your commonsense in the face of way too much bull-pucky. LOL

[Chena]

We have been fighting. The list of broken promises goes back to Statehood. Google ANILCA, Alaska Native land Claims, Prudhoe Bay etc. Too often we Alaskans have been depicted as the greedy, blue eyed Arabs of the north. Add to that the international environmental organizations with hundreds of millions of dollars and slick lawyers in their employ and you can see what an uphill battle we have. Instead of fighting us and buying into a liberal line of ignorance, conservatives should help us work to de-fund the environmental extremists that are blocking our progress.

Well said!

[Chena]

Redhead, I shall include you in my list of intelligent people on the subject. :)

[cynicom]

If Alaska were to become independent, I would liquidate tomorrow and be there yesterday.

[okie01]

It still does.

That was too easy.

[Chena]

We'll be here waiting for ya. LOL

[redhead]

"Redhead, I shall include you in my list of intelligent people on the subject. :)

LOL! I don't know about the "intelligent" part, but I have frequently maintained that the worst thing Alaskans ever did for Alaska was vote for statehood. Since then, we have had nothing but politics as usual. It would be nice, as stated previously and much better than I can express, to actually be seceded from the Union. I often wondered why nobody ever thought of it.

Just think of it: 1.) Alaska secedes from the U.S. 2.) Alaska declares war on U.S. Government. 3)Alaska capitulates immediately; 4.) Alaska becomes independent country and receives foreign aid from U.S. as do most the nations that are defeated by American forces... (LOL!! Don't shoot until I get my asbestos underwear on!)

[Chena]

LOL! I don't know about the "intelligent" part, but I have frequently maintained that the worst thing Alaskans ever did for Alaska was vote for statehood. Since then, we have had nothing but politics as usual. It would be nice, as stated previously and much better than I can express, to actually be seceded from the Union. I often wondered why nobody ever thought of it. Just think of it: 1.) Alaska secedes from the U.S. 2.) Alaska declares war on U.S. Government. 3)Alaska capitulates immediately; 4.) Alaska becomes independent country and receives foreign aid from U.S. as do most the nations that are defeated by American forces... (LOL!! Don't shoot until I get my asbestos underwear on!)

Don't worry, I don't shoot anything I can't eat. LOL Now, your fictional scenario is one dreams are made of. And I do believe that Alaskans HAVE thought about seceding from the Union. If memory serves, there was actually a group who was trying to gather enough support to do just that back in the early 90's. hmmmm, now you have my memory cells screaming for help. LOL

[Chena]

By the way, I do love your tagline!

[flashbunny]

so that justifies a $250 million bridge on an isolated island, because "we deserve it"????

My state constantly sends more back to DC than it gets back. But when they spend millions of dollars for bike paths and other idiotic things in the federal highway budget, I don't say "we deserve it", I say it shouldn't be spent.

That is the conservative position.

Thanks for stepping up and proving you really don't have any conservative principles.