D.C.'s Big Dig

Waterbury Republican-American ^ | June 11, 2009 | Editorial

[Graybeard58]

The U.S. Capitol's Visitor Center is the quintessential public-works project. It began as a modest proposal in 1994: Build an underground area where tourists could get out of the elements while they wait in line to tour the Capitol. From its $70 million beginnings, however, it mushroomed into a three-story, 580,000-square-foot monstrosity that is three-quarters the size of the Capitol itself.

Ostentatious only begins to describe the center, which has been dubbed "Congress' tribute to itself." It includes a TV studio where members may record messages for the folks back home, two theaters, an auditorium and an exhibition hall, and a cafeteria for up to 550 diners. From conception to completion, the budget was revised upward and the timetable extended a number of times. By the time the center opened last December, three years behind drop-dead completion date, the cost had soared to $621 million, nearly nine times the original price and $300 million above the "final" estimate.

All that remained was for the construction defects to appear. Last week, heavy rains provided the first real test of the storm-drainage system built with top-dollar union labor. The system failed when a simple seal in a pipe failed, flooding part of the center. A Capitol spokeswoman said damage was minor, and the flood was contained within an hour. But you would have thought planners would have made drainage a top priority since they built the center on a swamp near the National Mall, which once had canals.

"Sometimes these things happen," she said, paraphrasing a universal truism. But it seems to happen a lot more in projects run by career politicians and government bureaucrats spending other people's money. Ominously, the government has put itself in charge of two auto companies and some of the world's largest financial institutions. It may only be a matter of time before they have those companies under water, too.

[Graybeard58]

Ping to a Republican-American Editorial.

If you want on or off this list, let me know.

[yankeedame]

In 2008, the temporary kiosk and the security building on the South side of the Capitol will be replaced by an underground visitor center located on the East side of the Capitol, across from the Library of Congress. This is the floor plan for the visitor center:

• 1) Security screening area
• 2)Emancipation hall is a gallery with two 30x70-foot skylights
• 3) Information desk and ticket office
• 4) Orientation theater featuring a short film
• 5) Entrance to the U.S Capitol

[pabianice]

[org.whodat]

Should be a ping to the rino’s that pushed this slop project!!

[WorkingClassFilth]

When is construction on the new Reich Chancellery to begin?

[rockinqsranch]

“....But you would have thought planners would have made drainage a top priority since they built the center on a swamp near the National Mall, which once had canals.”

Wondering how did they get past the environmentalists to build on wetlands?