I found a lot of very
interesting stories in the media over the past little while. I thought I would
let you know what some of them are.
ANOTHER COSTLY
BRIDGE
If you think that anyone
has the faintest idea about what the cost of a new Windsor Detroit bridge is,
then I think you are wrong, dear reader. In my opinion, it probably will be
higher than anyone thinks it will be. Here is an example of a 25% or so increase
in price in another project in the area that happened so
quickly:
"LaSalle Bridge Proving
Costly
By Ricardo Veneza on March
17, 2016
The County of Essex is
spending almost $100,000 more than it thought it would on bridge repairs in
LaSalle.
Administration thought the
rehabilitation job for the County Rd. 8 bridge running over the Canard River —
also known as the bowstring bridge — would cost about $400,000, but Front
Construction got the contract as the lowest bidder at $495,221." (Ricardo Veneza
BlackburnNews March 17, 2016)
Who knows. Perhaps that 5
billion dollar plus cost for a new Government bridge in Windsor/Detroit is still
a lot low.
WILL GOVERNOR SNYDER RUN
FOR PRESIDENT SOON
It won't be this term but
it would not surprise me to see him running for President in the next
presidential election. After all, the mess in the Michigan State issue with
respect to Flint is not his fault now is it. He just wants to fix up everything.
Just look what he says in Washington DC in the hearing there in his speech on
March 17, 2016:
"That’s why I am committed
to a complete and comprehensive change in state government that puts public
health and safety first.
And it’s why I called for a
thorough investigation of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
by the auditor general and the inspector general.
We are taking
responsibility and taking action in Michigan, and that is absolutely essential
here in Washington, too. Inefficient, ineffective, and unaccountable bureaucrats
at the EPA allowed this disaster to continue unnecessarily...
I am grateful to have been
elected to serve the people of Michigan. I understand their
anger.
I’ve been
humbled by this experience. And I’m going to make Flint and every community in
Michigan a better place to live. We have a lot to learn, and a lot to
do.
I close with a simple plea
…
Partner with me in fixing
this"
LET'S BUILD TOLL
ROADS
What the heck. Never mind
using tax money to build roads. Let's just charge people toll money to do
so.
What a nice way for some
private firms to make a ton of cash to build these roads and to manage them over
the years. Of course, the main responsibility for these roads will be the
Governments involved who will have to raise the money to do so since they will
be owners.
Let's do some tolls in
Toronto first to demonstrate what a great idea it is to build these kind of
roads. Then, when everything looks so fabulous, new toll roads can be built all
over the place. Just see what the Globe and Mail wrote in their Editorial on
March 16, 2016:
"It’s a mystery why Canada
has something of an allergy to toll roads. There are many tolled highways in the
United States, including quite a few of the interstates; fully 26 states have
them, often known as “turnpikes.” When the idea is raised in Canada, it’s often
decried as a socialist plot or a government tax grab. It’s actually as
free-market as can be. Want to drive on the road? Pay for it. Highway 407, a
toll highway just outside Toronto, is a rarity.
As for Toronto itself, the
crumbling eastern section of the Gardiner Expressway is in no condition to
continue as it is. It would make eminent sense to finance its repair and
replacement – which will cost at least $2.5-billion – and that of the related
Don Valley Parkway, by levying charges on its drivers, rather than raising the
money from the city’s long-suffering taxpayers."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/why-give-drivers-a-free-ride-bring-on-the-road-tolls/article29266448/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/why-give-drivers-a-free-ride-bring-on-the-road-tolls/article29266448/
DETROIT/WINDSOR TUNNEL
REQUIRES LOTS OF WORK TO FIX UP
Just like the Ambassador
Bridge, it looks like the Tunnel also needs to spend a fair bit of money to fix
up. It should be interesting to find out how much it really costs. It looks like
the money will have to be spent no matter what it ultimately is since the Tunnel
has gotten old from its initial construction:
"The Windsor-Detroit Tunnel
will be closing overnight five days a week beginning in August for replacement
of its original concrete roof.
“It’s a scheduled project
and if you look at tunnels in the United States and Canada they have a lifespan,
just like the roof on your house has a lifespan, and so this is just a scheduled
replacement,” said tunnel president Neal Belitsky.
The roof replacement will
be part of extensive renovations to the tunnel which will begin in
May...
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