Amazon's Spheres Got Me Thinking About Fort Worth's Spheres Of Boondoggles

A couples days ago I was asked if I knew the current status of the stalled bridge construction in Fort Worth.

A question about stalled Fort Worth bridge construction is referencing the three simple little bridges being built over dry land to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

Fort Worth's four year bridge building project began with a big TNT bang over two years ago. Then, in March of last year, construction was halted due to supposed design errors involving re-bar.

Such is one among many reasons that that which used to be known as the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision is now known, far and wide, as America's Biggest  Boondoggle.

Now with federal funding to the tune of about a half billion bucks.

That's right, you who live in other areas of America, particularly those areas of America which are allowed  to vote to approve and fund public works projects, you are helping pay for Fort Worth's vitally un-needed flood control and economic development scheme which has been dawdling along for most of this century, and has never been approved by a public vote.

A couple days ago I saw something in the Seattle Times which had me freshly pondering what a backwards backwater Fort Worth is in so many ways. An article titled Amazon's Spheres: Lush nature paradise to adorn $4 billion urban campus.

Can you imagine an article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram  about something in Fort Worth with two paragraphs such as....

The fruit of a bold design, the so-called Spheres will serve as a haven of carefully tended nature geared to letting Amazonians break free from their cubicles and think disruptive thoughts. It’s an internet-era, Pacific Rim answer to the architecturally astounding gardens set up by European monarchs during the Enlightenment era.

The structures are also the architectural crown jewel of Amazon’s $4 billion investment in building an urban campus, an eye-catching landmark that symbolizes the rise of what 20 years ago was a fledgling online bookstore into a global e-commerce and cloud-computing leviathan.

During my time in Texas two corporations built new corporate headquarters in downtown Fort Worth.

Tax breaks and eminent domain abuse were used for Radio Shack to build its new headquarters, which caused Fort  Worth to lose the world's shortest subway, acres of easy parking, and which became a Boondoggle when Radio Shack could not afford its new headquarters, with the Boondoggle compounded by another Fort Worth Boondoggle, that being the messed up construction of a downtown campus of Tarrant County College, with that Boondoggle eventually leading to Tarrant County College paying millions to Radio Shack to use the Radio Shack headquarters for a purpose for which it was not designed.

A college.

You reading this in modern areas of America, I am not making this stuff up. Fort Worth has to be the Boondoggle center of the known world, with Tarrant County being the eminent domain abuse center of the known world.

The other new corporate headquarters in downtown Fort Worth was the Pier One Imports building. Soon Pier One also could  not afford its new building. So, it was sold to Chesapeake Energy, from whence Chesapeake then ran its shadow government of Fort Worth during the bizarre reign of Mayor Mike Moncrief. Chesapeake Energy has since been run out of town. I don't know who own the old Pier One Imports building now.

I saw that Seattle Times article about the new Amazon campus. A $4 billion campus, built at the north end of the Seattle downtown, an area already highly developed and thought what a contrast between how such a thing happens in modern America, compared to how projects falter in Fort Worth.

I have read of no eminent  domain use, or abuse, used to acquire the property to build Amazon's buildings. I have read of no tax breaks or sweetheart deals or bribes finagled by Amazon from the Seattle government in exchange for building its new headquarters where it is being built.

If Amazon tried that type tactic, which works so well in desperate Fort Worth, Amazon would likely be told if they can't afford to build without such help, then don't built it there. Which is what Cabela's was told when it tried to shake down a Washington town. Unlike in Fort Worth, the absurd claim that Cabela's would be the number one tourist attraction in Washington was not tried, while Fort Worth bought that Top Attraction in Texas con and gave all sorts of enticements to the sporting goods store, while in Washington Cabela's was told no, if you need subsidies to open here, then don't open here.

Reading about the new Amazon campus in Seattle got me thinking about issues regarding Fort Worth other than just the Radio Shack Boondoggle.

Fort Worth's infamous Trinity River Vision debacle has been boondoggling along for most of this century. Boondoggling along with an ever shifting project timeline, the latest of which had Boondoggle Executive Director, J.D. Granger saying most of the project's infrastructure should be complete by 2023. Who knows what is meant by project infrastructure. The pitiful bridges? The ditch under the bridges?

Thinking about Fort Worth's pitifully slow, badly designed, ineptly implemented public works project got me thinking about other public works type projects I know of which have been happening during the same time frame during which Fort Worth has not managed to complete its relatively simple project.

Arlington voters approved of the building of a new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Construction on that billion dollar plus spaceship began in 2004. If I remember right the first Super Bowl happened there in 2009, or 2010.

Way back late in the last century Dallas voters approved their own Trinity River Vision, well before Fort Worth did its copy cat thing. The Dallas Vision included three signature bridges. Fort Worth's Vision copied the three signature bridges element, then failed to deliver. Whilst Dallas has finished one of its signature bridges, with another soon to be completed, or, for all I know, is completed. I know the second bridge was well under way when last I was in Dallas.

I blogged about the Dallas bridges my one and only time driving over the completed Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in In Dallas Driving & Walking Across Impressive Signature Bridges To Trinity Groves.

During the period of time Fort Worth has been limping along with America's Biggest Boondoggle, up north, in Seattle, two major public works projects have come to be a reality. The new 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington is completed, floating and carrying traffic. Unlike Fort Worth's stalled bridges the Seattle floating bridge was built over actual water. The entire new floating bridge project cost around  $4 billion.

Seattle has another $4 billion project well underway. That being the Alaskan Way Viaduct project This involves the world's biggest tunnel boring machine, nicknamed Bertha, tunneling under downtown Seattle. Bertha is nearing completion after a major hiccup put the project about a year behind schedule.

While Bertha has been boring, other parts of the project have been underway, such as replacing the seawall along the Seattle waterfront.

Seattle projects, and public works  projects in locations other than Fort Worth, have actual project timelines, with full transparency when something goes awry, like the Bertha problem. Meanwhile, in Fort Worth, no one knows the real reasons The Boondoggle's simple little bridges have stalled.

Here is an example of how a responsible public works project's directors let the people know how their public works project is progressing, with that example being on the WSDOT Follow Bertha webpage.

How come such a webpage does not exist for Fort Worth's infamous Bridge Boondoggle? Other than the Trinity River Vision's bizarre quarterly propaganda publications which tout, four times a year, what little has actually been accomplished since The Boondoggle's last quarterly propaganda mailing.

This blogging has gone long. I was going to mention some other west coast public works projects, approved in the November election. The something like $82 billion transit bond approved by Los Angeles voters. And the $54 billion transit measure approved by Pierce, King and Snohomish county voters, those being the counties where Tacoma, Seattle and Everett are located.

Meanwhile in Fort Worth, no public vote funding the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision. But there is that almost half billion bucks that may dribble in to town over time, maybe with enough money arriving that those little bridges being built over dry land  might one day get built, along with the ditch dug to go under the bridges....

In Dallas Driving & Walking Across Impressive Signature Bridges To Trinity Groves

Til today I had not been to Dallas since the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge opened to traffic on March 29, 2012. I had been to Dallas while the bridge was being constructed, but never could tell where that was taking place.

So, I was surprised today to see where the bridge is located and what an attractive addition it is to the Dallas skyline.

Construction of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge began in spring of 2007, which would seem to indicate it took around five years to build.

Over water.

The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge is part of the Dallas version of the Trinity River Vision. The Dallas version is a bit further along than the Fort Worth version, with Fort Worth currently having three simple little bridges under construction over dry land with a four year construction timeline. While Dallas has one of three actual signature bridges completed, with the second, the Margaret McDermott Bridge, currently under construction, with its main arch visible from the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge.

Does Dallas have some sort of rule that all bridges in town have Margaret as their first name?

It is fairly easy to find ones way to crossing the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge from downtown Dallas. The bridge sort of sticks up like a landmark, visible from multiple locations as one heads west from downtown. In the above picture we are crossing the bridge with me snapping a picture through the windshield, which is the reason for the blue tint at the top.

On the west side of the bridge you immediately come to Trinity Groves. Trinity Groves has a lot of parking spaces, but with warning signs warning the parking is for Trinity Groves patrons, not bridge walkers. There is another parking area for bridge walkers, accessed by the first right turn one comes to after crossing the bridge.

Above is a look at the outdoor dining zone of several of the Trinity Groves restaurants. Trinity Groves is a Restaurant Concept Incubator, a 15 acre entertainment, retail and artist district brought about by restaurateur investors, Phil Romano, Stuart Fitts and Butch McGregor. The goal is to foster startup businesses. Chefs and restaurateurs present their concepts to a team of experienced restaurateurs.

From the Trinity Groves website....

Our incubator program has been successful in attracting diversity to the area; we are currently incubating a variety of concepts including Spanish Tapas, Middle Eastern, Latin-Asian fusion, Central-American, Italian, and sushi. In addition to restaurants and retail, Trinity Groves features a microbrewery and a culinary events center. We also host many exciting events such as art and theater shows, live musical performances and chef cook-off competitions.

Below we are on the other side of Trinity Groves from the covered patio you saw above, looking at the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, which as you an see, has a rather dominating presence on the Dallas skyline.

I can sure see why Dallas legitimately refers to this bridge as a signature bridge, as in a one of a kind bridge which will become recognized as part of the Dallas skyline, like Reunion Tower. I am fairly certain Fort Worth's three simple bridges, being built in slow motion over dry land, which  Fort Worth propagandists also refer to as signature bridges, will not tower quite as tall as the three Dallas signature bridges.

With all this bridge talk let's become a bridge walker. I decided that even though I had been advised that one can not park in the Trinity Groves parking lot whilst bridge walking, that it really would do no harm, nor rob a potential Trinity Groves parker of a parking space, due to there being many available.

The bridge which the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge replaced, Continental Bridge, has been converted to being a pedestrian, biking, blading bridge, which also seemed to be a linear park. I was so impressed with both bridges. I was not expecting the Continental Bridge to be something special. I had seen this bridge up close on the most recent conclusion of The Amazing Race, with it being the final destination.

No, that is not rainwater soaking the deck of the Continental Bridge. That is a water feature. See those round spots on the pavement? LED lights were inside those spots. And somehow when kids would step on the spots random shots of water would erupt. The kids seemed to be having themselves a mighty fine time. Note the green lounge chairs to the right? They also have a water feature.

Above we see an elderly gentleman enjoying sitting on one of the aforementioned lounge chairs whilst that pole to his left gently administers a cooling mist, that at times got a bit aggressive with the misting. The Continental Bridge provided a lot of seating opportunities as one walked across the long bridge.

Above are some of the seating opportunities. Note the landscaping of the drought resistant, low water, low maintenance sort. Several sections of the bridge were thus landscaped.

I only made it halfway across the bridge, going as far as the center of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge arch to take the requisite selfie photo.

I am not getting any better at taking the selfies. In sunlight it is hard to see the screen, and the picture taking button. I must be doing something wrong.

Anyway, I must say, I was very impressed with the Dallas signature bridge today, and the bridge which runs parallel to it. I saw a lot in Dallas today which impressed me, including an amazing number of bikers rolling around town. That looked like something I might try.....

An Actual Signature Bridge Built A Short Distance From Fort Worth

No, what you are looking at here is not a hyper-realistic, super saturated Brian Luenseresque type artist's rendering of what one of America's Biggest Boondoggle's bridges might look like if the bridges ever are able to carry traffic from the mainland to the imaginary island.

The water under the bridge probably was a good clue that this was not one of Fort Worth's Boondoggle's "dry" bridges.

What you are looking at is a Panoramio photo by Salaticco of an actual signature bridge built this century in a town near Fort Worth called Dallas.

That would make this the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. This bridge, built over a body of water known as the Trinity River, began to be built in the spring of 2007. The bridge was completed and open for traffic in March of 2012.

One year longer than four after construction began.

Fort Worth's infamous Boondoggle is scheduled to take four years to build three non-signature, simple, small bridges over dry land.

Both town's bridges are part of their "river visions". Both town's "river visions" have funding woes. The Dallas "river vision", just like Fort Worth's, sees three bridges, but Dallas has fallen short of the funds needed to build the other two signature bridges.

While Fort Worth, with worse funding problems, dropped the idea of building actual interesting, signature bridges, and opted instead to build three very ordinary bridges, in slow motion.

I suspect Dallas will see a completion of its "river vision" long before Fort Worth nears such a milestone.

No unqualified local congresswoman's son was hired to oversee the Dallas "river vision"......

All Aboard For The Fort Worth Bridge Boondoggle Ground Breaking Boycott

This morning I was thinking about yesterday's blogging about Mary Kelleher boycotting tomorrow's Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's ground breaking ceremony for its Three Bridges Over Nothing.

Thinking about the Three Bridges Over Nothing led to me once again wondering why no one but me seems to be baffled as to why The Boondoggle's construction of these bridges is scheduled to take four years.

Four years when bridges far more ambitious have been built over water in less than four years.

The only explanation my limited imagination can come up with for the four year project timeline is the bridges are being built in slow motion in the hope that by the time four years pass The Boondoggle may have found the money to build the ditch under the bridges to be filled with water, finally creating a pseudo island, which is currently called Panther Island, even though there is no island.

The bridge to my next thoughts led to thinking about Fort Worth's newly re-built West 7th Bridge. To my eyes this is a good looking bridge.

The Boondoggle claims its Three Bridges Over Nothing are signature bridges which will become iconic images representing the entry to the vaunted imaginary Panther Island.

Why did The Boondoggle not mirror the look of the West 7th Bridge for its Three Bridges Over Nothing? The West 7th Bridge is visually interesting. The artist's renderings I have seen of the Three Bridges Over Nothing indicate those bridges are not going to be even remotely visually interesting.

As I did all this bridge thinking I decided to blog about it. That had me looking for a picture of the West 7th Bridge. That led me to a Dallas Observer article, part of which is screencapped above, with the title Sorry, Fort Worth, But Your New "Signature" Bridge Is Pathetic.

Now that seems a bit rude. I've not heard the West 7th Bridge referred to as a "Signature" bridge. I certainly don't think the bridge is pathetic.

The first three paragraphs in the Dallas Observer article amused me, with the amusement due to the fact that that which is being written about happened way back in October of 2013, but could also describe what is happening, bridge-wise, in Fort Worth tomorrow...

This afternoon in Fort Worth, a "parade of dignitaries" will mark the opening of the new West 7th Street, and good for them. It's a fully competent work of civil engineering and a pleasant enough way to get to downtown Fort Worth, if get to downtown Fort Worth you must.

It's just that the level of excitement -- and remember that we say this as a friend and neighbor -- has grown unseemly. People are dropping adjectives like "signature" and "one-of-a-kind" as if no one's ever built a bridge before.

We urge the people of Fort Worth put down their celebratory bottles of Andre, pause for a moment, and cast their gaze eastward. There on the horizon, if their eyes can penetrate 35 miles through the smog, they'll notice a majestic -- nay, heavenly -- glow. Closer inspection will reveal the source as a span that truly deserves superlatives, the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge.

I vaguely remember reading and possibly blogging about this Dallas Observer article back when it was published. If you read the entire article you will find that the writer does have some fun making fun of Fort Worth, but, the writer is also having fun making fun of Dallas and its "Signature" bridge. And by the end of the article the writer sort of back handedly compliments Fort Worth, advising Fort Worthers to stop embarrassing themselves giddily parading down their mediocre bridge, but to instead slink back into their "vibrant downtown and human-scale developments and bikeable neighborhoods and think long and hard about what truly makes a great city."

Sounds like good advice to me, good advice that Fort Worth would be very wise to heed.....

The World's Longest Floating Bridge Got Me Pondering Fort Worth's Imaginary Signature Bridges

Last night I was reading the news on CNN online when I saw a headline for an article about the world's longest bridges. That article quickly let it be known that due to China dominating the longest bridges, with five of the world's longest suspension bridges, the writer of the article opted instead to list the longest bridge in the world in specific categories, other than suspension bridges. Such as longest natural arch bridge, ironically also in China, world's longest covered bridge, world's longest floating bridge and other types of longest bridges.

My old home state of Washington has four of the world's five longest floating bridges, including the world's longest, which you see above, that being the Evergreen Point Bridge across the north end of Lake Washington. Another floating bridge crosses the southern end of Lake Washington. The northern Lake Washington floating bridge is currently being replaced, hopefully before the current floating bridge sinks, something that has happened twice to Washington's floating bridges.

Looking through the CNN list of bridges got me once again thinking how bizarre it is that the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle refers to three bridges which may soon be under construction, across a possibly never to be built flood control bypass, as signature bridges.

Signature bridges?

I assume what is meant by that term is a bridge which acts like a signature, signifying to someone who sees that bridge, that that bridge is located in a specific location. For instance, the Golden Gate Bridge is a signature bridge instantly recognized as being in San Francisco. The Brooklyn Bridge is a signature bridge instantly recognized as being in New York City. The London Bridge, is, well, you know where it is being a signature bridge.

And then we have Fort Worth's "signature" bridges, an artist's rendering of one is what you see below.

Why would anyone in their right mind claim with a straight face that the above bridge could be a signature bridge that people the world over might recognize as being in Fort Worth, Texas? Very perplexing. Why are ordinary things touted as being extraordinary, so often, in this town?

I have never heard any of the Seattle floating bridges referred to as signature bridges. I've never heard of the Tacoma Narrow's suspension bridges referred to as signature bridges. I've never heard of the Golden Gate bridge referred to as a signature bridge. Why do those behind the attempt to build these Fort Worth bridges, over a non-existent flood bypass channel, insist upon referring to them as signature bridges?

I've mentioned before that the proposed trio of  Fort Worth bridges originally were going to be more architecturally significant, maybe even signature, designed by renowned designer, Bing Thom. But the Thom designs were scrapped due to being too expensive for the underfunded public works project the public has never been allowed to vote on.

Dallas has its own version of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, also with three bridges, also referred to as signature bridges. The Dallas vision, with its three bridges, came along before Fort Worth had the same vision. However, the Dallas vision is already seeing an actual bridge over actual water, that being the Trinity River. The completed Dallas bridge is named the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. Why? I don't know.

The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge was designed by Santiago Calatrava, who also designed the other two, uncompleted, Dallas bridges.

The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge has warranted a Wikipedia article.

Is Vegas taking bets on if there will one day be a Wikipedia article about Fort Worth's signature bridges across an un-built flood control bypass?

A blurb from the Wikipedia article about the Dallas bridge...

"...the signature, 40-story center-support-arch was topped-off with a central curved span, providing an additional feature to the Dallas skyline, as it can now be seen from many miles away from several directions."

That is the bridge in question you are looking at below. It appears to have a slightly different visual impact than Fort Worth's proposed "signature" bridges.

Regarding iconic signature city skyline elements, recognized world-wide as being part of a particular city, on the left of the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge you are looking at Reunion Tower, it being a well known symbol of Dallas.

The Wikipedia article mentions that the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge is featured in the opening credits of the new version of the TV series Dallas. That TV series, in its original form, is what made Reunion Tower a symbol of Dallas, recognized around the world.

I wonder what the opening credits of a Fort Worth TV series would show the world? Those Trinity River Vision Boondoggle "signature" bridges? Hundreds of inner tubers Rockin' the Trinity River? Sundance Square Plaza? The Fort Worth Stockyards sign? A Longhorn? Maybe a Longhorn herd? Cowtown Wakepark? Gas fracking sites? The stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth?

Perplexing questions.....