Shovel-ready jobs.
“Officials called the cracks incredibly serious and potentially catastrophic.”
Why is it no one ever asks why they don’t find shit like this util it is so obvious? It doesn’t happen overnight. If we aren’t going to have an efficient DOT, why have one?
Is there no duct tape in the Louisville area?
“various very serious”-’definitely deleterious, previously impervious’—feel free to add on,,,,,
No problem.......unless you live in the Knobs.
This is going to get interesting in a political way also. There have been plans to build an additional four bridges across the Ohio river in this area for close to thirty years.
A local ‘eco and high society’ group has been using various legal challenges and tricks to delay and halt where they could these new bridges. I imagine that new pressure will be placed on them to give up their resistance.
I crossed it the night before the discovery.
Sometimes bridges fall down.
The Tay Bridge Disaster is a poem written in 1880 by the Scottish poet William McGonagall, who has been widely acclaimed as the worst poet in British history.[1] The poem recounts the events of the evening of December 28, 1879, when, during a severe gale, the Tay Rail Bridge at Dundee collapsed as a train was passing over it with the loss of all on board (now thought to be 75 people, not 90 as stated in the poem). The foundations of the bridge were not removed and are alongside the existing newer bridge.
Original Tay Bridge (from the north).
Original Tay Bridge (from the South) the day after the disaster.
The poem is by far the most famous ever written by McGonagall, and is still widely quoted. It begins:
“Beautiful railway bridge of the silv’ry Tay
Alas! I am very sorry to say
That ninety lives have been taken away
On the last sabbath day of 1879
Which shall be remembered for a very long time.”
And it ends:
“Oh! Ill-fated bridge of the silv’ry Tay
I now must conclude my lay
By telling the world fearlessly without the least dismay
That your central girders would not have given way
At least many sensible men do say
Had they been supported on each side with buttresses
At least many sensible men confesses
For the stronger we our houses build
The less chance we have of being killed”
William McGonagall wrote two other poems in praise of the Tay Bridge. The first one begins as follows:
The Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay:
“Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay!
With your numerous arches and pillars in so grand array,
And your central girders, which seem to the eye
To be almost towering to the sky”
After the original bridge collapsed, a new one was built, providing the opportunity for another poem, which begins:
An Address to the New Tay Bridge
“BEAUTIFUL new railway bridge of the Silvery Tay,
With your strong brick piers and buttresses in so grand array,
And your thirteen central girders, which seem to my eye
Strong enough all windy storms to defy.”
Hello People,
I am writing because I respect and understand Governor Daniels’ decision and the need to shut down the Sherman-Minton Bridge but if has major effects on my life. Understand that I live in New Albany but work for a company with offices in both Jeffersonville and Louisville. Due to this I have to drive across the river just about every day, like many in this area. The recent traffic has been bad, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I do think that the governments are doing a stellar job of dealing with this mess.
I do have an idea for you that might help. I remember talking with my wife’s grandfather maybe 15 years or so ago when he was in town from French Lick. He was telling us about all the changes since he was a young man who went to Louisville for work in the 40’s or 50’s. He talked about how to get across the river from New Albany they drove on the railroad trestle. From his story it seems that the current railroad bridge from New Albany to Louisville was a duel use bridge for the trains and the auto traffic. I have looked at the images on Google Maps and it looks to my untrained eye like there are still metal grate roadbeds intact on either side of the structure. I’m wondering if it can be negotiated with CSX to return those to light vehicle use during this state of emergency.
It looks like the roadbed has been maintained for maintained vehicles so returning it to full service shouldn’t be too hard. I’m sure that there would be a need for traffic signals to stop traffic while the bridge was in use by the trains but it would certainly reduce the traffic loads on I-65 and the Clark Memorial Bridges.
I have emailed this to Both Governors and to their Lt. Governors, the Mayors of New Albany and Louisville, both Depts. of Transportation and a few other government offices. I hope that they will take a serious look at it, but I am unsure. I have also emailed many of the local news people hoping they will look into it. I figure the more people looking at it the better so I thought to post it publicly to anyone who might be affected or even interested. I’m sure that some will also contact government officials and ask about this option as well.
Thank you for your time and attention,
Bruce (AKA Thurat)
New Albany, IN
E` ta`n e` epì tâs