Seattle Waterfront Vision Nears Completion With No End In Sight For Fort Worth River Vision

I saw that which you see here this Memorial Day Monday morning, via a Seattle Times Can a new bike path on Seattle’s waterfront work for cyclists and cruise ships? article.

Seeing this brought to mind the fact that I've not heard anything of late about that Fort Worth embarrassment known as the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision. Or simply, as The Boondoggle.

The only thing I recollect hearing about The Boondoggle, after the completion of those three pitiful little bridges built over dry land, to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island, is that Fort Worth finally finagled some funding, via the Biden Infrastructure bill, to help pay for the cement lined ditch that would divert Trinity River water under those three pitiful bridges.

Fort Worth's infamous Boondoggle began boondoggling near the start of the current century. I forget what year it was that construction began on those three pitiful bridges. I do remember it took an astonishing seven years to build those bridges.

Over dry land.

Meanwhile, up in the Pacific Northwest, in Seattle, about the same time Fort Worth had a TNT exploding ceremony to mark the start of the building of those pitiful bridges, Seattle began a massive project to rebuild the Seattle Waterfront.

This Seattle project was not given a pretentious name, like Seattle Waterfront Vision. 

The first part of that project was boring a tunnel under downtown Seattle. When that was completed the Alaskan Way Viaduct was removed, with its traffic now going through the new tunnel.

With the viaduct removed the rebuild of the waterfront could begin. Now nearing completion.

Meanwhile in Fort Worth. Crickets.

How can two American cities be so different? Such began baffling me soon after the move to Texas.

One thing I know for certain is that if Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision is ever something one can see, one will never see HUGE cruise ships docking on the little lake that is part of the vision...

Touring With Spencer Jack & Grandpa Jake To Great Lake With Shrinking Viaduct

Spencer Jack and his grandpa have been taking me on some virtual tripping the past several days.

With Spencer Jack and his Jason dad in various locations in the Wisconsin part of America, while Spencer Jack's grandpa has been taking me to various locations in our old home state of Washington.

Earlier today I blogged about grandpa Jake in Seattle, after he asked me when I was last at that location, with the precise question not clear as to its precise meaning.

This afternoon fresh photo documentation arrived on my phone from both the Spencer Jack entourage and Grandpa Jake.

Both instances of photo documentation were sparse with the verbal details.

For instance that photo you see of Spencer Jack standing on a beach at the edge of what looks to be a lake simply said "Beautiful day at the lake."

This looks like a really great lake, likely one of the Great Lakes, most likely Lake Michigan, since I was previously informed that that particular Great Lake was going to be visited.

The next photo was a bit more informative, saying "Spencer and I at the Miller Brewery sampling product and finding a souvenir for Grandma Cindy."

And then the next photo, though free of any explanatory text seems to indicate Spencer Jack had found the appropriate Miller Brewery souvenir for Grandma Cindy.

Now, let's leave Wisconsin behind and head back west to Washington and Grandpa Jake.

The text with the above photo from Grandpa Jake simply said "And the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Which is coming down."

This is rather convincing evidence that Grandpa Jake does not read this blog, what with the number of times mention has been made of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and that other aspect of that project, that being the world's biggest boring machine's digging a tunnel under downtown Seattle.

Which is a public works project which began boring in 2014, the same year Fort Worth had a TNT exploding ceremony to celebrate the start of construction of three simple little bridges, built over dry land, with a then astonishing four year project timeline, now extended into the next decade.

While the new tunnel under Seattle has been completed and in use for months now, and with the Alaskan Way Viaduct almost all removed, followed by the rebuilding of the Seattle Waterfront.

In Grandpa Jake's above photo you can see remains of the Viaduct on the left, with the new open space on the right, where the Viaduct is now long gone.

I wonder if Grandpa Jake made his way up the Pike Street Hillclimb, and then ventured to see the Amazon Spheres. Ruby took me to see the Amazon Spheres the last time I was in Seattle. They were not yet open at that point in time. I believe they are now completed and open. But, I do not know if they are open to the public.

Well, I wonder where Spencer Jack and Grandpa Jake are gonna take me next?

A Tale Of Two Town's Bridges

I saw that which you see above this morning in the Seattle Times. Photos taken from atop the Seattle Wheel. The photo on the left was taken January 13, a few hours after Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct was closed to traffic permanently. The photo on the right, of the same view, was taken May 21.

As you can see a large expanse of the double decker Alaskan Way Viaduct Bridge is now gone, with areas of Seattle out of the shadows and exposed to sunlight for the first time in over a half century.

Meanwhile in Fort Worth, during the same time frame.

Simple little bridges being built over dry land, with construction beginning way back in 2014, can't seem to make much progress. Month after month with little to show for the money and time wasted.

During that same time frame whilst Fort Worth can't seem to build three little bridges, up north a double decker four lane tunnel was built under downtown Seattle, with the bridge Viaduct it replaced now being quickly removed.

I do not understand these Fort Worth bridges. In the above photo you can see one of the infamous cement V-piers, supporting the makings of a bridge deck. Why are all those vertical pilings required to help hold up the bridge deck, one can not help but wonder?

Is that one of the design stalemates? Is the contractor not agreeing that those V-piers are of a design sufficient to support a bridge deck? Or is the concern what will happen to the structures if that forlorn ditch is ever dug under the bridges, with polluted river water diverted into the ditch, finally giving a reason for the bridges connecting the Fort Worth mainland to an industrial wasteland's imaginary island?

Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project is costing a few billion bucks. The project was fully funded prior to going into dig and build it mode. This is an actual needed project, due to the fact the Alaskan Way Viaduct was an earthquake hazard. And removing this longtime barrier opens the Seattle Waterfront, which is an actual waterfront, not an imaginary waterfront.

Fort Worth's simple little bridges are just one part of what used to be known as the Trinity River Vision, before the name morphed into Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision, or just Panther Island project, or more commonly known as America's Biggest Boondoggle.

The Seattle project has been successfully ramrodded by qualified project engineers.

The Fort Worth project has been ramrodded by the unqualified son of a local congresswoman, a low level county prosecutor with no engineering experience of any sort. He was hired to motivate his mother, Fort Worth Congresswoman, Kay Granger, to secure federal pork barrel funds.

The federal money has not materialized, the hapless project has long been floundering. Yet, J.D. Granger is still being paid over $200K a year, plus perks, and other benefits, such as a cushy job for his most recent wife.

But, this type thing is what is known as the Fort Worth Way. Which, apparently most of the Fort Worth locals are okay with, because they keep electing the perpetrators responsible for multiple ongoing messes, such as non-existent urban planning resulting in actual flooding in areas which actually need infrastructure flood prevention improvements, unlike the area being messed up by J.D. Granger and his co-horts, with claims the project entails much needed flood control where no flood has happened for well over a half century.

This Boondoggle is so bizarrely perplexing...

Tacoma Snow With Spencer Jack 747 Flight To Highway 99 Tunnel & Pike Place Snowman

Incoming new Snowmageddon photo documentation from my old Washington home zone, specifically Tacoma and Seattle

Three photos from Tacoma in incoming email this morning.

Text in that email...

Went sledding with some friends then played in the snow at the kid's school. I took the pic of the water beyond the swings because if you zoom in, you can whitecaps. The sun is out now but the wind is still biting. Other pic is just how the roads look. Main roads are pretty slushy but our streets are still white. When it freezes tonight, it’s gonna get slick!

I could see the aforementioned whitecaps in the above photo when I viewed the photo full sized, but not so much in the cropped shrunken version. That body of water is a southern section of Puget Sound known as Commencement Bay.

When I first saw the above photo all I saw was Ruby sledding down a hill. Then I opened the photo  full sized and realized that was Ruby's brother, David, on the left, and twin, Theo, on the right, trudging back up the hill for another sledding run. I may have the brothers reversed, with it actually being Theo on the left, with David on the right. Or that may be a pair of the sledding friends referenced in the email.

And above we are looking at M Street, in front of David, Theo and Ruby's Tacoma abode.

And next we are standing on David, Theo and Ruby's front porch, looking out at their snow covered front yard and an equally snow covered M Street.

The current forecast for Western Washington, sent to me last night by David, Theo and Ruby's cousin, Jason, indicates the snow is not leaving anytime soon, with more expected to arrive, along with what melts during the day, re-freezing at night, rendering driving continually hazardous.

And speaking of Jason, now let's go to Seattle, with Spencer Jack.

Last week, between snowstorms, on Tuesday, Spencer Jack took his dad to Seattle, to Boeing Field, to the Museum of Flight, hoping to explore the first 747, which is now on display, marking it being a half century since that plane took its first flight over Puget Sound. Spencer Jack and Jason arrived at 10 in the morning, with their 747 tickets having a noon boarding time. However, incoming snow grounded that boarding, resulting in Spencer Jack and Jason being given raincheck tickets for a future snow-free boarding.

Leaving Boeing Field and the Flight Museum, Spencer Jack suggested, since they were in the neighborhood, that the drive back north be via the Highway 99 Tunnel, which had opened the day before.

So, I now have my first first hand account of driving through the new tunnel. Jason's take on it is that the tunnel is brightly lit, with LEDs, that he was surprised at how the tunnel seemed to slope noticeably downhill after entering, then made a not toodetectable curve before re-emerging at ground level near the Space Needle.

All in all, by Jason's account, compared to going the same distance via the now closed Alaskan Way Viaduct, the new tunnel is a boring way to cross downtown Seattle, with nothing to see but the tunnel. Whilst driving the Alaskan Way Viaduct gave one an elevated view of Elliott Bay, ferry boats, cruise ships, the downtown skyline and more. But, it was acknowledged that despite its many attributes the Alaskan Way Viaduct was a noisy, dangerous eyesore that needed to go.

After exiting the new tunnel Spencer Jack thought it a good idea to head back south to the heart of downtown Seattle, to Pike Place Market.

Above we see Spencer Jack standing by a rare downtown Seattle Pike Place Market sight. With that rare sight being a snowman standing at the location famous for flying fish, well, flying salmon tossed by fish vendors.

If I have my bearings right, and my memory is working somewhat accurately, Spencer Jack is looking at the location of the original Starbucks, a short distance to the east.

No snow at my current location way north of being deep in the heart of Texas. Just drizzle and cold air. I grow tired of cold air...

Will There Ever Be An All-Out Sprint To Finish Anything In Fort Worth?

Yesterday we took a Closer Look At Fort Worth Losing Federal Funding For America's Biggest Boondoggle.

Taking a closer look was prompted by two days in a row where the Fort Worth Star-Telegram published what seemed to me to be bizarre propaganda pieces about the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision, more commonly known as America's Biggest Boondoggle.

And now today, a third bizarre piece of Star-Telegram propaganda.

Day One we had Fort Worth’s $1B Panther Island project quietly cut from 2018 federal budget.

Day Two followed with Panther Island will move ‘full steam ahead’ despite funding slowdown, proponent vows.

And now on Day Three of this propaganda onslaught the Star-Telegram asks Can Panther Island work without federal funds? Maybe, if Fort Worth plays the long game.

Plays a long game? Wasn't the so-called Panther Island project originally touted as a vitally needed flood control and economic development scheme by those conning the public as to the project's supposed worth? And yet this vitally needed project has been limping along, under funded for most of this century, with little to show for the effort, and a lot of money literally down the drain.

And now we are looking at playing a long game?

The absurdity of this Fort Worth boondoggle, and the inept way the town's supposed newspaper of record covers the absurdity, struck me this morning whilst reading a Seattle Times article about An all-out sprint to demolish Alaskan Way Viaduct in 2019.

Around the same time as Fort Worth's blind vision began looking at nothing, as in near the start of the current century, Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct was damaged by an earthquake. Discussions ensued as to how to get rid of the Viaduct, and with what to replace it.

As is the Seattle Way, it took a lot of discussing to come up with a plan. Eventually it was decided to replace the Viaduct with a tunnel. The project was engineered, and funding secured.

And no local politician's son was put in charge.

Around the same time as Fort Worth had a TNT explosion to mark the start of construction of the town's three simple little bridges being built over dry land to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island, the world's biggest tunnel boring machine, nicknamed Bertha, began its boring course under downtown Seattle.

Bertha bored for a thousand feet, or so, and then hit a chunk of steel which severely damaged her. Fixing Bertha took about a year. The process was fully transparent, with a live camera aimed at the operation 24/7.

A year after Fort Worth's TNT explosion marking the start of bridge construction locals began wondering why nothing was happening on the bridge building locations. The local newspaper of record did no reporting as to what was causing the delay. There was, and continues to be, ZERO transparency as to what the problems are with these bridges.

And now, four years after that TNT explosion and Bertha began boring, Bertha has long finished her boring, the roadways have been installed in the new tunnel. And once the tunnel opens for traffic the Alaskan Way Viaduct can finally come down.

That is expected to be happening in the first four months of 2019.

Read the Seattle Times article about An all-out sprint to demolish Alaskan Way Viaduct in 2019.and make note of how different this article is from that which you may read in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about anything to do with America's Biggest Boondoggle, particularly the slow motion bridge construction.

Notice at the end of the Seattle Times article the hundreds of comments, to an article which was only published this morning. Such is the case over and over again with articles in the Seattle Times.

Intelligent debate with opinions all over the political spectrum.

Meanwhile in a Star-Telegram article there are rarely comments. When there would seem to be so much which is comment worthy. Is this lack of comments because the Star-Telegram has few readers? Or are their readers simply shy about expressing themselves?

Very perplexing.

The price tag for the entire Alaskan Way Viaduct removal, replacement tunnel, waterfront rebuild and other parts of the project came with a multiple billion dollar price tag. Fully funded. With the project on track to completion, even after a major hiccup. And Seattle will be reaping HUGE benefits from the investment, with the town's already busy waterfront reinvigorated by its new connection to downtown with the removal of the Alaskan Way Viaduct obstruction.

Meanwhile in Fort Worth, currently, those pretending to be in charge, indicate the vitally needed Trinity River Vision flood control and economic development scheme may come to fruition in 2028.

Maybe.

If the federal government is foolish enough to throw some more money down the Fort Worth drain....

Is Seattle's Big Bertha Boondoggle Bigger Than Fort Worth's Panther Island Boondoggle?

This morning the Star-Telegram provoked me to blog about Fort Worth's most infamous boondoggle, that being the boondoggle formerly known as the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, now re-branded as the Panther Island Boondoggle.

Last night I was online, reading that extremely reputable news source known as FOX News, to see that Seattle's current tunnel boring problem has now become a national story with the enviable term "Boondoggle" attached to it.

That had me wondering how long it will be til, if ever, Fort Worth's notorious Trinity River Vision/Panther Island Boondoggle gets on the national radar screen. This may be one of those times when it is a good thing to be a bit of a backwater that the rest of America pays little attention to, thus avoiding laughing stock status, which Seattle appears to be on the verge of enjoying.

FOX News compared the Seattle tunnel woes to Boston's notorious Big Dig Boondoggle, as you can see via the story's headline of "BIG DIG CAUSING BIG  PROBLEMS FOR SEATTLE TAXPAYERS."

Regarding Bertha becoming a Boondoggle, this is what FOX News had to say...

The tunneling machine is the key workhorse in a $3.1 billion tunnel project aimed at replacing the Alaska Way Viaduct, a double-decker elevated highway that was damaged in the 2001 Nisqually earthquake. Bertha's meltdown, though, has put the project in jeopardy of being the West Coast version of the biggest public works boondoggle in U.S. history, Boston's "big dig" -- which cost taxpayers $14.6 billion, nearly four times the original price tag. 

Big difference between this Seattle $3.1 billion project and Fort Worth's less than $1 billion project, Seattle's project is funded, funded with a project completion timeline, now thrown asunder by a stuck tunnel boring machine nicknamed Bertha. This entire HUGE project is, or was, scheduled to be completed well before Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision/Panther Island Boondoggle's three bridges over an imaginary bypass channel are completed.

In case you are wondering, and I am sure you were, Bertha is named after Bertha Knight Landes, she being the first female mayor of a major American city, serving as Seattle's mayor from 1926 til 1928, followed by years of social activism.

In the Wikipedia article about Bertha, in the Legacy section we learn "Today, the largest meeting room at Seattle City Hall is named in her honor. The tunnel boring machine used to construct the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel under downtown Seattle was nicknamed "Bertha" after her."

So, the biggest meeting room in Seattle City Hall and the world's biggest tunnel boring machine is named after Bertha.

Even with Seattle's current Bertha woes I am fairly certain vehicles will be traveling through a new transit tunnel under downtown Seattle years before anyone will be finding anything worth seeing in the Trinity River Vision/Panther Island Boondoggle....

Seattle's Big Bertha Boondoggle vs. Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision Boondoggle

What you are looking at on the left is part of a tunnel which a machine nicknamed Bertha is boring under downtown Seattle.

Bertha came to a grinding halt a couple months ago. And then when she finally began grinding again, four feet later she overheated and stopped again.

And now Bertha has been grounded for what may be months due to problems with clogged clutter heads and a damaged main bearing seal.

Are we now at the point where this $3.1 billion project might be referred to as Seattle's Big Bertha Boondoggle?

Some are already comparing the Seattle project to Boston's notorious Big Dig Boondoggle whose original $2.8 billion dollar cost ended up being $22 billion.

The current state of Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct tunnel replacement project and its current potential boondoggle status got me comparing Seattle's Big Bertha Boondoggle to Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

I would guess that the Seattle project will fairly quickly get back on track and out of its current boondogglishness. As you can see, the Seattle tunnel project has already resulted in some impressive engineering, already having tunneled one-tenth of the tunnel's 1.7 mile distance, before Bertha stopped.

The Seattle tunnel boring only began in the last year, and already one sees more accomplished than well over a decade of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

The Seattle tunnel project addresses an actual serious problem. That being the fact that the Alaskan Way Viaduct could collapse in an earthquake, causing great loss of life. The Alaskan Way Viaduct was badly damaged by the Nisqually Earthquake, earlier this century.

The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle was originally propagandized as being a much needed flood control project, to protect downtown Fort Worth from a flooding Trinity River, by building an un-needed flood diversion channel, so that levees built over half a century ago, could be taken down.

So, unlike the Seattle tunnel project addressing fixing a real problem, the Fort Worth TRV Boondoggle addresses a non-existent problem, because downtown Fort Worth has not flooded in over a half a century, due to the protection afforded by those aforementioned levees.

The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle is also an economic development project, developing a blighted area north of downtown Fort Worth with a little lake, maybe some canals, housing, restaurants, other commercial developments, plus one of the world's premiere waterfront music venues, along with this century's first drive-in movie theater and summer time's Rockin' the River Inner Tube Happy Hour Floats on the pristine Trinity River.

Seattle's Alaskan Viaduct Replacement Project also has some economic development aspects. Such as upgrading the Seattle waterfront's seawall along with taking down the Alaskan Way Viaduct, opening up an area for a new waterfront promenade.

I wonder which town's massive public works projects will be completed first? I wonder which town's massive public works project will be successful? I wonder which town's massive public works project will get national and international attention of the positive sort? I wonder which town's public works project might gain lasting fame as a classic boondoggle?

I bet you can guess what my answers to the above questions would be.

Boring Bertha Got Me Wondering Again About The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Project Schedule Timeline

This morning whilst perusing various news websites I came upon two articles which eventually had me thinking about the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

In today's Seattle Post-Intelligencer there is an article titled Seattle Tunneling Machine Digs Out Of Launch Pit.

The tunneling machine has been nicknamed Bertha, after a long ago Seattle mayor. Why? I do not know. Bertha the Mayor was way before my time on the planet. Did Bertha the Mayor like to dig?

In part the article in the P-I said.....

"Bertha," the massive tunnel boring machine, is expected to spend the next 14 months drilling a two-mile tunnel to replace the 60-year-old Alaskan Way Viaduct. The world's largest tunnel boring machine is creating a tunnel nearly 58 feet in diameter as part of the $3.1 billion project to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct, the double deck highway along the downtown Seattle waterfront.

Reading that it is going to take Bertha 14 months to bore this tunnel had me wondering what the timeline schedule is for the entire project. More on that further  down.

The other article that had me thinking about the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle was in my old hometown of Mount Vernon's online news source called Go Skagit. In part the Go Skagit article said....

MOUNT VERNON — The second phase of the downtown floodwall project, designed to revitalize Mount Vernon’s economy as well as provide better flood protection from the Skagit River, will move along this week with installation of conduit for the lighting system. The parking lot west of Main Street is still being graded, and contractors will pour sidewalk and curbing in the parking lot this week. Floodwall foundation construction will continue for the next few weeks. The project is on schedule to be done by September 2014.

So, Mount Vernon's Skagit River Vision is scheduled to be completed by next September, and is actually a needed flood control project which will result in revitalizing Mount Vernon's economy.

Back to Bertha.

Reading that Bertha had finally bored her way out of her launching pit had me wondering how long it will be before cars are using that new tunnel to get under Seattle. Googling brought me to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) website where I saw that you can follow the progress of Bertha through multiple  stages til its completion.

At the WSDOT website I also found a Project Schedule section where I read the following and saw the project timeline you see below the text....

Schedule

The Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program is led by WSDOT in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, King County, the City of Seattle and the Port of Seattle. It includes more than 20 projects that will work together to reshape the SR 99 corridor.

Construction on the first project started in 2008, when crews stabilized four viaduct columns that settled following the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake. Since then, more than a dozen projects have been completed, with several more in progress or set to break ground soon. The below timeline includes major accomplishments along the road to viaduct replacement.

Since 2008 more than a dozen projects have been completed? With more in progress or ready to break ground? And from the above timeline I learn by late 2015 the new tunnel will be open for traffic.

The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle has been boondoggling for well over a decade. Has anyone seen any sort of timeline schedule of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle of the sort you see above of the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project?

After well over a decade of the TRV Boondoggle what do we see? The Cowtown Wakepark, the Woodshed Smokehouse, The Coyote Drive-In, an incoming ice rink, happy hour inner tube floating at a venue preposterously called Panther Island Pavilion, a lot of destruction due to eminent domain abuse and no construction of the much needed flood control project that will save Fort Worth from the flood control levees that have done their job for over a half a century.

Boondoggle.

And why is there no project schedule timeline for the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle?

Supposedly 3 bridges to nowhere will soon be being constructed over the yet to be constructed, or funded, un-needed flood diversion channel.

Boondoggle.

Oh, I already said that. Never mind.....

Spencer Jake Riding The Great Seattle Wheel Reminded Me Of The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle

No, that is not an artist's rendering of what little Pond Granger will look like if the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle ever becomes something anyone can see.

What you are looking at in the picture is my Great Nephew, Spencer Jack, and his favorite girl friend, Brittney, in Seattle, high above Elliott Bay in a gondola attached to the Great Seattle Wheel.

I blogged about Spencer Jack and the Great Seattle Wheel, this morning, on my Washington blog in a blogging titled Spencer Jack & Girl Friend Brittney Take A Spin On The Seattle Great Wheel.

Looking at the above picture did get me to thinking about the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle. To the left of Brittney we can see a small slice of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The Alaskan Way Viaduct is getting replaced by a tunnel. The world's biggest tunnel boring machine, christened Bertha by the locals, has started her boring job.

The new transit tunnel is scheduled to be operational sometime in 2015 or 2016.

Does anyone know when some aspect of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, other than a drive-in movie theater, a restaurant, a wakeboard park, inner tube floating parties and a lame music venue, is scheduled to be operational?

Like when is that celebrated flood diversion channel scheduled to finally start protecting downtown Fort Worth from a flood?

Has anyone seen an artist's rendering of what that flood diversion channel will look like?

Is the flood diversion channel, if it is ever built, going to be a big cement lined ditch? Empty of water except when a flood comes to town?

When can we expect to be seeing cruise ships docking on Pond Granger? This decade?

Have any of J.D. Granger's thousands of Magic Trees been planted?

Over two years ago we learned that those Magic Trees had to be in place during a flood to slow down the Trinity River after it shoots at high speed through the flood diversion channel. Shouldn't those trees be planted by now? Giving them plenty of time to get well rooted before they get  hit with a flood?

So many questions. Never any answers....

Up Early The Last Saturday Of September Not Worrying About Falling Satellites & Wondering About Floating Bridges & Billion Dollar Boondoggles

I am up early looking through the bars of my patio prison cell on this last Saturday of September, the 2nd day of Fall.

The outer world in my location is currently chilled to 61 degrees, heading to a supposed high of 91 today.

After enduring a lecture from my therapist, Dr. L.C., I've decided to make another 180 degree lifestyle change, ceasing with being a lazy layabout and returning to my excessive exercise lifestyle mode.

In other words I'm going swimming this morning.

I had a fitful night of worrying about being hit by the incoming Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. Apparently I did not need to be worrying. NASA claims that any one person on the planet had a 1 in 22 trillion chance of having a satellite piece land on them.

UARS has crashed and burned and so far there are no reports that it hit anyone.

Meanwhile, over in the Seattle P-I this morning I found it interesting to read that pontoons as long as a football field and three stories tall are being built in Aberdeen. Aberdeen is a town on Grays Harbor on the Washington Pacific coast. When finished the pontoons will be floated to Seattle to build the new six-lane floating bridge across Lake Washington, connecting Seattle and Bellevue.

This is a $4.6 billion project. Seattle has more than one project underway in the multi-billion dollar range. In addition to the new floating bridge there is the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project that includes a massive vehicular tunnel running under Seattle. Then there's the light rail extensions to the University of Washington and to Bellevue.

Billions of dollars worth of construction projects underway in the Seattle zone.

I believe the population of the entire state of Washington is less than the population of the entire Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

In the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex the only big public works projects underway that I am aware of are the fix to the Grapevine funnel problem and the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

I can think of one really good possible public works project in this troubled part of the planet, besides a massive effort to clean up the polluted Trinity River. That is, extending the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) train to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. And to Arlington's Entertainment District that includes Six Flags Over Texas, the Ballpark in Arlington and the Dallas Cowboy Stadium. And then when that is done, run a line to downtown Fort Worth.

The sun has turned on the lights now, so it is time to go swimming.

Are The People Voting On Big Dumb Boondoggles In Fort Worth & Seattle? If Not, Why Not?

If I remember right I think I've mentioned previously that I find it interesting how differently democracy is practiced in my current location of Fort Worth, Texas, compared to my previous location in the Seattle, Washington zone.

Both towns have big public works projects underway. In Fort Worth the project is known by various names, such as Trinity Uptown Project, Trinity River Vision or simply as That Big Dumb Boondoggle.

In Fort Worth the people who live in the city have not been allowed to vote on That Big Dumb Boondoggle.

Meanwhile, Seattle may have a boondoggle of its own in the making. That being the multi-billion dollar plan to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep bore tunnel under downtown Seattle.

In Seattle there is growing opposition to the tunnel, coming from various sources.

Now, to show you how differently issues are dealt with in Seattle, compared to Fort Worth, I've taken an article from today's Seattle P-I regarding the opposition to the tunnel. I have substituted "tunnel" with "Trinity River Vision" and "Seattle" with "Fort Worth" and changed Seattle's mayor Mike McGinn to Fort Worth's mayor Mike Moncrief and changed the price tag from $4 billion to a measly $1 billion.

Now, read this and ask yourself why you would never read such a thing in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram....

With big questions about potentially huge cost overruns, skeptics are gaining steam to torpedo the Trinity River Vision in Fort Worth.

Some groups want voters to have one final say about the Trinity River Vision -- before it's too late.

The Trinity River Vision is expected to cost nearly $1 billion to construct. But a consultant for the Fort Worth City Council says there's a 40 percent likelihood it'll cost more than that.

With that new ammunition, some Fort Worth groups -- such as the Sierra Club and Real Change -- are pushing for a new referendum that would stop the project unless city taxpayers are protected from cost overruns on the state project.

If that referendum gets enough signatures, Mayor Mike Moncrief -- who does not want Fort Worth on the hook -- says he supports a citywide vote.

Meanwhile, council members say there's still time for a compromise.

Fort Worth & Seattle: A Tale Of Two City's City Councils

You are looking at the skyline of downtown Seattle. That body of water is not a town lake, it is Elliott Bay. Elliott Bay is part of Puget Sound. Puget Sound is part of the Pacific Ocean.

Those big white boats are called ferry boats. Because they ferry cars and people to various locations on Puget Sound.

Where the ferry boats dock is called the Seattle Waterfront. Hovering above the Seattle Waterfront is this thing called the Alaskan Way Viaduct, a double decker elevated highway, that is obsolete, dangerous, a noisy eyesore and about to be replaced by a deep bore tunnel.

For the deep bore tunnel to work a new Elliott Bay Seawall must be built. The sea wall holds back the sea, sort of like an underground dike.

Now, here in Fort Worth, we have a water control project known as the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle. Spending around a $1 billion to build a little lake, an unneeded flood control diversion channel, 3 bridges and, maybe, some canals.

The citizens of Fort Worth have not been allowed to vote on the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

Now, contrast that with the following taken from the Seattle P-I, regarding the replacement of the aforementioned Elliott Bay Seawall....

"The Seattle City Council could hold off until 2011 before asking voters to approve a bond measure or levy to finance construction of a new Elliott Bay Seawall, according to a briefing Monday.

Replacing the seawall is a large piece of the $841 million in projects the city has agreed to complete as part of the $4.2 billion plan to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep-bore tunnel.

Mayor Mike McGinn has proposed a 30-year $235 million bond measure, which he wants to send to voters in November.

According to a City Council staff report, the council could hold off on a decision for the bulk of seawall financing until 2011. Seawall construction is expected to start in 2013 and finish in 2015. A preferred design isn't expected to be chosen until 2011.

The council's special committee on the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement also was presented Monday with two more potential financing packages for the seawall and other work related to the viaduct replacement. Altogether, the city must come up with $302 million in "unsecured funding," meaning the council must create new taxes to pay for it."

What a contrast with the Fort Worth City Council, which spends its time debating things like giving handouts to corporate failures, like RadioShack. And other nonsense.

Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct Comes Down In A Simulated Earthquake

I mentioned the Alaskan Way Viaduct a couple days ago. And that it's set to be replaced by a tunnel before Mother Nature destroys it with an earthquake.

I did not know the sea wall also needs fixing. I did not know there was a sea wall.

Something about a big tunnel, next to saltwater, in a town that regularly gets the shakes, seems counter-intuitive to me.

Supposedly the other big tunnel that runs under Seattle, that being the combo bus/rail tunnel, is designed to make it through a very strong earthquake. I would not want to be in the Seattle bus tunnel or any of its stations during a quake.

Seems to me Seattle is really pushing its luck with this $4.2 billion tunnel/viaduct replacement project. The viaduct won't come down until the tunnel is finished. What happens if the Big One quakes during the construction phase?

This morning in the Seattle P-I, online, I watched a YouTube video of a simulation of what would happen to the sea wall, the viaduct and the waterfront if another big quake strikes, as strong as the last big one, known as the Nisqually Earthquake, with an epicenter 30 miles closer to Seattle and lasting twice as long as the 15 second Nisqually Earthquake.

The video gives you a good look at the Seattle waterfront and a real good simulation of what an earthquake might do....

A Tale Of Two Cities: Fort Worth and Seattle's Public Works Projects

That is the Alaskan Way Viaduct you're looking at in the picture, looking south to the Seahawk's football stadium and the Mariner's ballpark, both of which were built without booting anyone out of their home.

I have blogged about the Alaskan Way Viaduct previously while comparing the way things are done in Seattle with how stuff happens in Fort Worth.

When I make a comparison between Seattle and Fort Worth I invariably get a comment from the ubiquitous "Anonymous," a very thin-skinned Anonymous, saying "we get it, Seattle good, Fort Worth bad," not getting that what I'm actually doing is comparing 2 large cities with which I am very familiar, but which have very stark differences.

Both towns have large projects in the works. One absolutely needed, the other not. The needed one being the Alaskan Way Viaduct which needs to be replaced before it is torn down by an earthquake. The not needed project being Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision. That vision being destroying the confluence of the West and Clear Forks of the Trinity River to build a very little lake, an unneeded flood diversion channel and some wetlands restoration.

If I remember right the canals have been dropped from the Trinity River Vision along with the signature bridges, as the price tag nears $1 billion.

In Fort Worth this public works project was foisted on the public with very little input from the public.

Contrast that with what the Governor of Washington, Christine Gregoire said at the recent document signing ceremony that started the Viaduct replacement project, "We've had nearly 10 years of public meetings, town halls, interest group briefings, thousands of public comments. We have ended the debate, we have made the decision, we have selected the option that will forever change the face of downtown Seattle. This will make a huge difference in the face of the city. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In six years we will able to stand on or near this spot and look across and be able to see the waters of Elliott Bay, you'll be reconnecting Pioneer Square with the water, downtown with the water, we'll have a great place for our public to come."

I've been following the debate about Viaduct solutions since shortly after I moved to Texas. I've always found the way issues get debated, in Washington, interesting to follow. The lack of any real debate, here in Fort Worth, with the public pretty much used to things being done the Fort Worth way, as in run like a Company Town, has been real interesting to me.

In the end, Seattle, Washington and King County decided on the $4.2 billion tunnel option. When the viaduct was built, 56 years ago, Seattle was not the tourist mecca it is now, no cruise ships docked in town, the waterfront was a working waterfront, not a tourist attraction. The Alaskan Way Viaduct has long been an eyesore, a real noisy eyesore. I'm thinking when this project is completed in 2015, or thereabouts, it is going to cause some major good things to happen on Seattle's waterfront.

So, that's how a Seattle public works project happens, it being a much more ambitious and expensive project than Fort Worth's little lake and flood diversion channel, that won't be finished, if it does get finished, til sometime a decade or more in the future.

In Seattle there is a lot of debate, a lot of arguing, a lot of input, and in the end, something good happens.

In Fort Worth the public is pretty much left out of it, there is no real debate.

And there really is no actual problem that is being solved, as in Fort Worth is already protected from bad flooding by huge levees that were built after a bad flood in the 1950s. Did Federal dollars help build those levees? Are Federal dollars being used to build the unneeded flood diversion channel that will, supposedly, replace the levees which are already doing their job, which were likely built with the help of taxpayer money?

If the Fort Worth and Tarrant County public got to have input there would likely be a consensus that no money should be spent on the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle until money is spent to fix the deadly flash flooding creeks of Haltom City.