This particular blog post sort of fits into the category of things I read in west coast online news sources, usually the Seattle Times, which I would not expect to read in a Texas online news source, usually the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, about something happening in Fort Worth, or Texas.
Last Saturday Fort Worth had a celebration to mark the opening of the Main Street bridge, second of three simple little bridges being slowly built over dry land, with construction starting with a celebratory TNT explosion way back in 2014.
In the Seattle Times Seattle’s new Fairview Avenue bridge opens Saturday morning article we see several differences regarding how something gets done in a modern American city, and how something flounders in a not so modern American city.
Among the many problems which have caused Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision to become America's Biggest Boondoggle is the fact the project has never been fully funded, has never been approved by the voters supporting any sort of bond issue. All that and the person hired to be the Executive Director of the project was, and is, an unqualified boob.
A few paragraphs from the Seattle Times article illustrating the difference between bridge building in Seattle and bridge building in Fort Worth...
After almost two years of detours, a new concrete-supported Fairview Avenue North bridge will open Saturday morning, replacing an old structure on rotting wood pillars.
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Two years? And built over actual water? Amazing. Before we continue on with another paragraph let's look at another photo of this Seattle bridge, with its bike and pedestrian lanes.
I don't know why they didn't drain Lake Union before building this bridge, you know, because bridge building the Fort Worth Way is over dry land, whilst pretending it is easier and cheaper to build over dry land, when there was no other alternative to doing so.
Continuing on...
The $52 million project is funded by the Move Seattle property-tax levy and state bridge money.
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What a concept, a public works project funded by a levy approved by voters.
Continuing on...
Opening ceremonies begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, followed by two hours to walk, bike, and skate the deck until 11:30 a.m.
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I saw no photo documentation of anyone walking, biking or skating from last Saturday's ceremony opening Fort Worth's Main Street bridge, other than the photo of J.D. Granger, a couple of his minions and a solo bike rider we saw in the blog post from yesterday titled On His Way Out The TRWD Door Jim Oliver Lets Loose Loopy Defense Of J.D. Granger.
Continuing on...
The Fairview bridge is the only full bridge replacement funded by Move Seattle. It’s the city’s 30th seismic retrofit since 1990, and the third funded by the current levy, with nine remaining by 2025.
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Okay, seismic retrofits of 30 bridges is definitely not something you would read happening in Fort Worth, due to the fact that the town is not subject to earthquakes, other than the ones caused by the world's biggest urban experiment in fracking shale to release natural gas.
Have Fort Worth voters ever been asked to support some sort of big project? One of the things which surprised me when first voting in Texas was there being no things to vote on of the bond issue, referendum, initiative sort.
King, Pierce and Snohomish counties have passed multiple Sound Transit bonds over the years, with the most recent bond being for something like $56 billion. The counties which make up the D/FW Metroplex do not seem to cooperate on doing anything.
Way back from 1968 to 1970, King County voters voted on 12 propositions in an effort called Forward Thrust. This included multiple items, such as building the Kingdome, upgrading Pike Place Market, building the Seattle Aquarium and more. 7 of 12 propositions passed. One of the elements which did not pass in Forward Thrust was building a light rail system. Voters did not begin supporting such until the 1990s.
Five Puget Sound counties were affected by the need to add transit capacity crossing the Tacoma Narrows. So, voters passed a bond issue to build a second Tacoma Narrows suspension bridge, built over actual deep swift moving tidal waters in less than four years.
It is having such things stored in my memory bank which cause me to wonder how can another American town be so inept at actualizing relatively little projects? Like building simple bridges over dry land, digging a cement lined ditch to go under the bridges and whatever else in needed to make a vision something someone can see.
And do so in a timely fashion.
So perplexing...
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