Eddie's Schwartz Problem

Oh my goodness, Unliplocked Sam has caused a major problem for Eddie and Windsor Councillors as well as the responsible politicians and bureaucrats at the Senior Levels. In fact, some of them may have personal legal liability now that they did not have since Sam has spoken.

In light of the bridge failure in Minneapolis Sam opened up his mouth again and the following was reported in the Star:

"One of the leading bridge and tunnel experts in North America, Sam Schwartz, was in Windsor...

He listed the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor as being a serious concern."

Well if Sam said so, then why isn't his client, the City of Windsor, along with the Senior Levels demanding that the Bridge Co. start building their Enhancement Project immediately! An enhanced bridge would be built and then the old bridge would be rehabilitated for redundancy and civic purposes. Instead, the Governments are putting roadblocks in the way of the Bridge Co. preventing them from doing so.

Now you tell me if this is acting responsibly and in the public interest. Are they putting the public at risk? Remember there are supposedly a "race" and competitive positions that the Governments are protecting too as well as regulating the Bridge Co.

Hmmmm speaking of the Tunnel and Eddie's US$75M proposed deal (whatever happened to it do you know), have you, dear reader, ever seen a report on its condition? Have you ever heard Sam make any comments about it? After all, it is quite old too and Sam should know it is a unique security risk. I think someone should ask the Mayor about it. After all Sam said:

• “Those reports must be made public,” Schwartz said. “This is a public use issue and the public has a right to know.”

What about the overpasses on E C Row that Cansult said had problems. What is their status today? Does the Mayor or the Province know? If so, what is the answer? Where is the traditional media asking the questions and demanding answers on our behalf? I know the Bridge Co. is an easy target but the City owns infrastructure as well.

Well, perhaps we should not be as concerned. One would expect that The Bridge Co. owners would ensure that the bridge is maintained properly out of their own self-interest. Having your own funds at risk is a great motivator for a private enterprise company. You see Sam made a shocking comment too last week in a NYC newspaper about public bridges that supports what I say. In fact, he may be a supporter of higher tolls too:

• "Tolls can fund maintenance - if the toll money is dedicated to the task. (New York decades ago set up independent authorities to manage bridges like the Triborough.) But this can mean perverse effects for un-tolled facilities, as engineer and transit expert Sam Schwartz has noted: "The [free] Queensboro Bridge, which should be used by 110,000 vehicles a day, is used by 150,000 vehicles a day, and those additional vehicles come from the Midtown Tunnel and from the Triborough Bridge, with no revenue stream to fix the Queensboro Bridge.
  
  "It's been crumbling, and all our bridges have been crumbling, because there has been no revenue base. So it's been bad for us to have those extra 40,000 vehicles pounding the bridge with no revenue stream to maintain the bridge."

Remember my BLOG "August 01, 2007, So You Want A Public Bridge Eh" where I outlined the financial problems of the "public" International Bridge in Sault Ste. Marie that gave rise to this comment:

• "I'm somewhat concerned that this will have a significant impact on our financial resources," said Phil Becker, general manager of Joint International Bridge Authority.
  
  "It may impact our ability to operate and maintain the bridge."

In fact, a bad rating for a bridge may not mean anything depending on what the cause is. Did you know this about the Brooklyn Bridge in Sam's home town:

• "The U.S. Department of Transportation rated the Brooklyn Bridge as structurally deficient last year, and state inspectors ranked its condition as "poor" in a recent survey, citing rusting joints and crumbling mortar in some sections...
  
  Federal and city DOT officials said the bridge's poor performance on inspections was due largely to deterioration of its newer approach ramps in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
  
  Those problems, city DOT spokeswoman Molly Gordy said, do not constitute a major safety hazard, and mainly affect the quality of the road surface. "

Sam was ok with this too and said:

• "I'm willing to bet we will be celebrating its 1,000th birthday in 2883," said transportation engineering consultant Sam Schwartz. "That bridge is so strong, if New York got hit with an earthquake that measured 8.0 on the Richter scale, those towers would still be standing."

I'd make a bet too about 1,000 years in the future considering few of us may be around to collect is Sam is wrong.

I think it may be time for people to start demanding action at the border and to have the Bridge Co. build its enhanced bridge already. As Dan Stamper has said:

• "We are replacing our factory," he said. "It's 78 years old and we want to update it with a more secure and efficient facility. It's as simple as that.
  
  "You would expect Windsor to embrace our proposal, but instead they are doing everything they can to interfere with it. Everybody has a right to say what they want, but we have the right to maintain our operation. That's what we are trying to do."