We Need A New Billion Dollar DRIC Bridge Project Because.. (Part 2)

More and more stories come out about the foolishness of wasting billions on the new DRIC bridge. How can anyone make certain politicians and bureacrats wake up.

We probably cannot because they are not using their money but ours!

ARE MICHIGAN BRIDGES SAFE

YES---MDOT

"June 13, 2008 -- State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudle today announced that the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has again updated information about the safety of 4,400 state highway bridges. This is the third time MDOT has made bridge safety information available on the Web.

"This update reflects MDOT's ongoing commitment to providing Michigan residents with quarterly reports about state-owned bridges. Citizens can be assured that Michigan's bridges are carefully inspected and well maintained," said Steudle.

NO---Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association

"One year after Minnesota’s bridge collapse, Michigan policymakers continue to ignore over 500 state bridges rated in poor condition, 163 of which are serious...

The analysis of Michigan bridges , published on the Michigan Department of Transportation website, shows the state with over 3,000 structurally deficient or functionally obsolete bridges... Over 500 MDOT bridges scored poor, serious or critical, receiving a 4 or less in at least one category.

According to MDOT’s five-year plan, at least one in every six of the state’s most serious bridges is not even scheduled for repair in the next five years due to lack of money. Those numbers are expected to drop even further with the recent news that Michigan is projected to lose as much as $1 billion a year in federal transportation matching funds...

“The sheer number of bad bridges is frightening given our dire situation with plummeting transportation dollars..."

According to the Gov. Granholm-appointed Citizens Advisory Committee report published last week, it is estimated that Michigan’s roads and bridges will require an annual investment of $6.1 billion – nearly two times the current funding level – for basic improvements to the state’s road and bridge system. Without this investment, an additional 30 percent of Michigan roads will decline to poor condition over the next decade.

USING BRAINS NOT MONEY

Lane changes reduce delays
By JESSE MCLEAN, FOR THE SARNIA OBSERVER

Better lane management at the Blue Water Bridge has contributed to a 50 per cent reduction in delays in July, the bridge's vice president of operations said.

Despite a similar amount of traffic volume, Stan Korosec said there have only been five days with hour-or-longer waits this month -- a fraction of the 19 days recorded in July 2007.

"This is huge," he said. "Last year, there would be a Wednesday with backups all the way to Modeland Road. We're not seeing that anymore."

The dramatic drop in lineups has been noticeable since April, he said, which had zero long-wait days compared to 19 the previous year.

"You expect it on some days, like Sundays or long weekends. That's accepted. But it was pretty terrible," he said of last year's border congestion, which was the worst since the fall of 2001.

"We had people urinating on the side of the road. We had people with medical emergencies who were trapped in line. It needed to be addressed," he said.

Korosec gives partial credit for the improvements to the U. S. Customs and Border Protection, which increased staffing and expanded hours on primary-inspection lanes.

Border officials are also changing lane dedication -- for example, from cars to commercial trucks -- at certain times of day to meet the demand, he said.