The DRIC Road Diversion

I don't get it.

I do not understand the difference between the DRIC short tunnels and Eddie's tunnel. Eddie's newest proposal is

• "a few cut-and-cover tunnels -- a trough covered with landscaping -- to bury the traffic...Tunnels built in Windsor would unlikely require ventilation towers or filters as long as they were no more than about 200 metres in length."

We don't know how many shunnels are in Eddie's proposal (Henderson said "eight to nine tunnel sections of varying lengths") but it sure sounds and looks an awful lot like what DRIC proposed in that brochure I posted a few days ago.

A big difference is that Sam now says only 4 lanes of traffic are needed, not the 6 as DRIC suggests. That should lower the cost somewhat. But there is a problem for Sam. When Sam rejected the Ambassador Bridge's proposal, he said:

• "Since the bridge is eight lanes wide the approach is most likely to be eight lanes wide (although the CTC has said six lanes would be adequate).
  
  The widest swath would pass though the Sandwich community and also affect the University of Windsor. South of E.C. Row we agree a six-lane roadway would be adequate."

So now it is ok to have a smaller road to reduce the budget when before a larger road was needed! Make up your mind Sam. So that must mean the Bridge Co.'s Enhancement project is back on the table for Sam especially with the drastically reduced traffic volumes.

And speaking of Parsons-Brinckerhoff. I am glad to see that we can afford so many American consultants but not watermain replacements. Three of them came in along with Sam for a meeting with Council. How much have they spent so far? I hope though we were not charged for Sam's full day here since he was giving out so many interviews.

Parsons-Brinckerhoff was involved in the Big Dig where costs escalated from about $3B to over $14B. Here is a recent Boston Globe story about the ongoing Big Dig mess that does not give me a lot of comfort:

• "Big Dig deal could hit $1b
  By paying, consortium would be free from criminal charges
  By Andrea Estes and Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff July 14, 2007
  
  State and federal officials are demanding that Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff pay as much as $1 billion to settle claims for shoddy work on the Big Dig, in exchange for a guarantee that the consortium will not face criminal charges in last year's tunnel collapse that killed Milena Del Valle, according to four sources with knowledge of the negotiations.
  
  Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, which was paid more than $2 billion to manage the design and construction of the Big Dig, would also be released from civil liability from the state and federal governments, the sources said yesterday.
  
  The settlement would relieve Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff of responsibility for any defects that become apparent after the agreement is signed, as well as those previously discovered on the $15 billion highway-and-tunnel project, such as the ceiling collapse and the leaks that continue to plague the Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill Jr. Tunnel, the sources said.
  
  All the sources have been briefed on the negotiations and spoke on condition of anonymity, because the private talks are still ongoing."

It seems that nothing that is proposed works for Windsor. Thanks to Eddie , we have lost the $300M BIF funds and the jobs that will be created. What can possibly happen next other than to chase out every business from Windsor so we do not have to worry about any trucks again. Maybe that is Eddie's secret plan...turning Windsor into empty pasture land. Take a look at downtown if you want to see what Windsor's future could be!

So the game is that Eddie will stall and huff and puff no mattter what is offered and no matter how much he has to spend of Windsor taxpayer money to bring in American experts. This will last until after the Provincial election when E C Row will be imposed on us so Eddie can say it was NOT his fault OR a Report will be disclosed saying the overpasses on E C Row are deficient and there is a need to rebuild the Expressway given the latest collapses.

More diversions perhaps? Sam was brought in to divert our attention from the WUC diversion that was no diversion and make DRIC the story for the weekend. {SIGH}