Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Can Anyone Find A Timeline Schedule Of Construction For The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle?

No, in the picture you are not looking at an artist's rendering of what downtown Fort Worth will look like if the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle ever builds the little lake, long ago promised, that many of the locals have taken to calling Pond Granger.

No, that ferry is not floating on Pond Granger, it is floating on Elliott Bay, in Seattle.

Elliott Bay is a natural body of water, part of Puget Sound, which is connected to the Pacific Ocean. It is not the result of a public works project run amok, that the public was not allowed to vote for.

This past week public works projects have been on my mind. Ever since the I-5 Skagit River Bridge collapsed in my old hometown zone of Burlington and Mount Vernon.

The building of the American Interstate System was one of the biggest public works projects in the history of the world. One would think there would be extensive records of its building, timelines, photos, all sorts of documentation.

But, there aren't.

Which brings me to the time line time table of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

Is there one?

Back when the TRV Boondoggle began, well over a decade ago, wakeboard parks, happy hour inner tube floats, drive-in movie theaters and music venues were not part of the vision that I saw. I do sort of recollect mention being made of restaurants being part of the waterfront attractions. I don't quite see how the TRV Boondoggle's Woodshed Smokehouse fits that bill, what with it being upstream from the Trinity Uptown zone.

Whenever I bike through Gateway Park I see the massive collection of Orwellian signage from the TRV Boondoggle touting the Gateway Park Master Plan.

What is the time table for the Gateway Park Master Plan? Is there one?

Trying to get info about the building of I-5 in Washington led me to the Washington State Department of Transportation website, which led me to some Washington projects, with time tables, that brought the TRV Boondoggle, with its non-time tables, to mind.

The Seattle zone has 3 public works projects underway that dwarf the TRV Boondoggle, both in scope and cost.

This summer the world's biggest tunnel boring machine will begin digging a tunnel under downtown Seattle for a new roadway to replace the earthquake damaged Alaskan Way Viaduct. Estimated cost, $4.25 billion. Completion date, 2015.

One of the floating bridges over Lake Washington is in dire need of replacement. This is now taking place, with the new bridge scheduled to be open in 2014. Estimated cost for the new bridge and other improvements, related to the bridge, $4.65 billion.

The other public works project underway in the Seattle zone are extensions to the Link Light Rail system. The various links have various completion dates. I don't know what the estimated cost is of the various new Link Light Rail routes, except for the fact that the number is in the billions and the public voted on the projects.

So, why is it that there is ZERO time line time table info for the extremely important, totally bogus, flood prevention economic development project known as the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle?

What can we expect to see from the TRV Boondoggle in 2015? A bowling alley? Roller rink? World's biggest collection of outdoor trampolines? When is Pond Granger scheduled to be filled with water? When is the scheduled completion date of the 3 ordinary non-signature bridges over the un-needed flood diversion channel?

Speaking of that, when is the scheduled completion date of the un-needed flood diversion channel?

Why is there no time table for the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle? Does it have anything to do with the project being underfunded?

Does it not seem that the public has the right to know a completion date for various projects of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle? Even though the public did not vote for the Boondoggle?

2 comments:

  1. Many consider all three of the Seattle projects that you mention as egregious wastes of taxpayer money...

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  2. Steve A, the billions spent on the 520 fixes and the light rail lines might be a good investment. But, over $4 billion for the Alaskan Way Viaduct fix? The tunnel is less than 2 miles long. The improved waterfront with not overhead highway might start up some new development. But, over $4 billion to fix that road?

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