Match this crazy price

[WA1GFZ]

We have this highway in CT. called Rt. 11. The state ran out of money on the project in 1972 so the last 8 miles were never built. At the end all you see is a bridge to a big blastd gap in the rock ahead into woods. This would be a great short cut to the shore.
Well it is in the news again and everyone wants the state to finish it to reduce traffic on secondary roads to the beach.
Tonight the news reports it will cost $600,000,000 to complete the last 8 miles and I think it is pretty flat to the coast. That comes out to $14,204.55 per foot!
XYL's comment. Her grandfather thought the streets were paved with gold in America before he left Italy....maybe that is the plan
Top That!

[Bacon, WA3WDR]

This may be a political issue... but it looks to me as though they are running it up the flagpole to see if they can get away with it.  We aren't as smart as the Great Generation, I'm afraid.

[WA1GFZ]

Hey,
The Roland crook only did a year for all he was involved in. The hunk of 84 that was under his watch only cost 60 mil and it is still a mess. How do you screw up a storm sewer.
We are stupid and the most stupid get in the government because there it doesn't take a lot of talent to make a lot of money.
AMWAY grads

[AF9J]

OK, try this on for size.  Back in the early 70s, Milwaukee County got federal funding to build a freeway along the Lake Michigan shoreline, to connect up downtown Milwaukee with Mitchell International airport (which is several miles south of the downtown area).  A spur off of I-94 was built, called I-794.  At Lake Michigan, I-794 turned to the right (southbound).  To avoid facilites that are on the lake (Port of Milwaukee, the main sewer plant, US Coast Guard station, the Summerfest [one of the world's largest music festivals] grounds), a 1 or 2 mile long high rise bridge (about 70-100 feet up), called the Hoan High Rise Bridge, was built.  This went fine.

Now is where things start to get weird - at the southern end of the bridge, and south to the airport, is all residential.  If course the people who lived in these residential areas, did not want a 4-lane highway in their neck of the woods.  So they started a petition, to have the freeway killed.  They collected several thousand signatures, and the freeway was stopped dead.  As a result of this, the nice, expensive Hoan bridge, with its 4 lane highway, became known as the bridge to nowhere.  Because at its south end, all it fed into, was a 2-lane residential street. 

For about 20 years this situation persisted, with the bridge only being lightly used.  Eventually (in the 90s) an expressway of sorts to the airport was made, that fed into  the south end of the Hoan Bridge.  But of course, something weird had to happen again.  In 2000, chunks started falling off sections of the bridge, to the ground below.  Luckily, nobody was hurt, but the bridge had to be closed, and the bad sections (which were on the verge of collapse), had to demolished, and replaced.  Also the rest of the bridge had to be refurbished.  The total cost was $19 million, and the bridge was out of comission for 10 months.  Yep, there are a lot of white elephant bridges.

73,
Ellen - AF9J

P.S. - if you've ever watched the "Blues Brothers Movie" car chase scene on the bridge,  you've seen the Hoan Bridge.  The bridge chase scene was filmed on the Hoan.

[WA1GFZ]

The end of RT11 also has a bridge to the woods. It is one of the best built bridges in the state and the dirt bikers have loved it since 1972 because they don't have to cross the busy 2 lane road below used by the cars.

[W1RKW]

Frank,
Rte. 11 made Wikipedia of all places.  There's a crap load of info on it that I never knew existed on the net.  I'm all for them finishing it but I will be bummed because I won't be able to tool down that highway at 150mph because it will be crowded.  Not far up the road from where I live is Consumer Reports automotive test grounds, the old Connecticut Dragway.  Rt11 is my dragway.

I can't believe they're spouting $600 million to complete the last 10miles.  The price tag keeps going up.

Ariel photo of the road to nowhere at the bottom of this link http://www.nycroads.com/roads/CT-11/

[Jim, W5JO]

Frank,


I can't believe they're spouting $600 million to complete the last 10miles.  The price tag keeps going up.

Almost in line with Boston's Big Dig.

[W1RKW]

The difference is they haven't even started construction yet. With Boston's big dig the price kept climbing during the construction phase.  I'd hate to see what the final price will be when this is done.  I can't imagine that it will be that big however.   It's mostly flat land. Maybe all this cost is for the EPA.... That's what's been dogging this project all along.

Frank, do you know what it cost the taxpayers to complete the last stretch of Rte. 9 from Middletown to Farmington 15 years or so ago?

[KB2WIG]

In New York State, there was a nukler power plant built on Lawn Guyland. Never generated a Watt of lectricity 'cus the gov (Cuomo) and the legislater bought it for 4 BILLION $$ and took it apart...  Nukler power is unsafe, and they had to make sure we was safe.... ..    klc

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

It's the road construction scam.

[WA1GFZ]

Ch 3 as usual was off by a factor of 10. only the bargin price of 60 mil.
Yea bob that will reall slow us down. Never cops but you need to look out for deer.
My brother climbs on the ice coming down the rocks in the winter.

I just don't see the price. 7 mil a mile.

Bob, I used to enjoy the dragway.

[W1RC]

I have a friend who used to lives in New Britain CT. When I sued to go to visit him I remember seeing an interchange on I-84 somewhere between West Hartford and New Britain.  It also looked like it goes nowhere in that the ramps just some to an end then a long drop down.

Know it?  What's the scoop?

73,

MisterMike, W1RC 

[WA1GFZ]

that is another bridge to nowhere

[W1RKW]

Mike,
That's the Rte.9 / I-84 interchange I mentioned in my previous post.  There are still remnants of a couple of deadend ramps left there for some other connection that was to occur. I'm not sure what those were for.  They may have been for Rte. 4 that comes into the same area.  Why they didn't use them, I have no clue.

I have a friend who used to lives in New Britain CT. When I sued to go to visit him I remember seeing an interchange on I-84 somewhere between West Hartford and New Britain.  It also looked like it goes nowhere in that the ramps just some to an end then a long drop down.

Know it?  What's the scoop?

73,

MisterMike, W1RC