'A Bridge to Nowhere'

You gotta love this. Alaska is spending over $200 million dollars on a bridge to connect the tiny island of Gravina (population 50) to the mainland, near the town of Ketchikan, Alaska (population 8,000). Watching a bit of Anderson Cooper last night, this 'pet project' of Congressman Donald Young was seen as questionable to quite a few people. In light of the devastation from Hurricane Katrina and the looming impact of Hurricane Rita, Congress has been busy devising measures to come up with money to pay for the damages and rebuild New Orleans and other devistated areas. Young seems intent on keeping his project alive, saying critics are ignorant of the issue.

...I don't know how ignorant you have to see what's going on. It's a bridge...costing over $200 million dollars to connect an island with a population of 50...I repeat, 50...to a mainland town with a population of 8,000. This isn't exactly something that's going to galvanize the local economy or have a shread of impact on a national sense. It's not a bridge connecting two major metropolitan areas, perhaps in hopes of easing the commute of workers between cities, etc. I'm all for having a means off the island...but $200 million? Come on. But in a state of about than 650,000 people, I guess 8,000 seems to be a chunk of voters that need some satisfaction...(ehem...less than 2%).

Some further perspective: The neighboring state of Washington received $230 million for major renovations on an earthquake-ravaged viaduct in Seattle that carries over 100,000 vehicles on a daily basis. Young gets $223 million for the Gravina bridge AND gets another $229 million for a bridge in Anchorage.

Now word is that Ketchikan is a hot spot for cruise ships to come and port. So...let's say people get off the ship...are they going to stay in Ketchikan or use the pretty, new bridge to hoof it over to a town of 50?

Need I go on? I think I will. Katrina is racking up a repair bill of around $200 billion. The Feds are scrounging around for money. I think 'pet projects' such as this warrant a hold and a swift kick in the rear to anyone that says..."Hell no...our $200 million bridge is more important". It's not like there is no way off the island as it is. There is a ferry that operates between Gravina and the mainland. It's not exactly swift, but there's something there. Maybe after we've settled a bit on more high priority issues, we can build a bridge for the 50 peeps in little Gravina...costing (hopefully) a little less than $200 million...