520 Bridge project reaching milestone
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SEATTLE -- Huge Seattle construction projects often get bogged down in delays, but that's not the case with the 520 Bridge project.
The project will reach a major milestone Monday when the first two of 44 so-called "stability pontoons" will be floated out of the construction area into Tacoma's Commencement Bay.
When the new bridge is done, it will actually sit a few feet above the water with help from the huge concrete blocks. Six of those blocks have been built in Tacoma.
"They are kind of like the foundation for a bridge. Where you see a pier column, a footing, these are the foundations for the new bridge," said Dave Becher of the Washington Department of Transportation.
You can't float a 100-foot-long concrete lego brick out on just any day. Crews need a 10-foot tide, and that's what's coming on Monday night when the floodgates will open.
Unlike common concrete that's porous and prone to cracking, the pontoons are built to last 75 years.
"The concrete in the pontoons here has an admixture, it's called micro-silica. It's a fine additive that fills up the void holes typically created by air so it makes it a very dense strong concrete," said Reg Carson of KIEWIT Construction.
There's just one little problem. There has been no decision, just a lot of controversy, about what the Seattle connection will look like. The state says it is not gambling and you will not wind up in the water. There are two years to come up with a Seattle plan, and if Seattle is still debating by them, the new bridge will just be hooked up to the off ramps and bridges of today.
The project will reach a major milestone Monday when the first two of 44 so-called "stability pontoons" will be floated out of the construction area into Tacoma's Commencement Bay.
When the new bridge is done, it will actually sit a few feet above the water with help from the huge concrete blocks. Six of those blocks have been built in Tacoma.
"They are kind of like the foundation for a bridge. Where you see a pier column, a footing, these are the foundations for the new bridge," said Dave Becher of the Washington Department of Transportation.
You can't float a 100-foot-long concrete lego brick out on just any day. Crews need a 10-foot tide, and that's what's coming on Monday night when the floodgates will open.
Unlike common concrete that's porous and prone to cracking, the pontoons are built to last 75 years.
"The concrete in the pontoons here has an admixture, it's called micro-silica. It's a fine additive that fills up the void holes typically created by air so it makes it a very dense strong concrete," said Reg Carson of KIEWIT Construction.
There's just one little problem. There has been no decision, just a lot of controversy, about what the Seattle connection will look like. The state says it is not gambling and you will not wind up in the water. There are two years to come up with a Seattle plan, and if Seattle is still debating by them, the new bridge will just be hooked up to the off ramps and bridges of today.
I really dont care if i get tolled; and dont care if it is variable or fixed. What i do care about, is that the tolled, that it is not going towards the actual construction. It is actually paying for the constant and incessant bickering, litigation, lawsuits, impact studies, and other BS.
Unfortunately, this is the bed we've made.
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The initially forecast cost was 4.68 billion in tax dollars to seattle and king county residents, with the rest of the state getting dinged on gas and sales tax for a project that many residents will use but a few times in their lives if at all.
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this was in 2006 dollars.
As of 2012 the state has committed nearly 1 billion dollars in prepatory work, countless studies and published impact reports, the evaluating and hiring of contractors and finally now the construction offsite of the pontoons and materials with which to build the new bridge.
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All of which at some level provides jobs, income and tax revenue.
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Just not necessarily to Washington residents, or for that matter even, American citizens.
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Now we can pontificate and spew conjecture until we are blue in the fingertips, but this is the proverbial (projected by federal insurance agents at 7 billion dollars) I told you so.
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There was never a public vote on this, This bill was fielded in the house, vetted in the state senate and signed into action by Gov. Gregiore.
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Property tax ^, Sales tax ^. this is for everyone.
Tolls averaging 6 dollars round trip for those who use the existing 520 bridge, which now nearly one year in effect have reduced traffic by 80%.
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And people complain when the mayor and county want to sell BONDS to finance what will ultimately be a publicly owned facility.
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Think people. Think.
I concede that 520 should be expaned, or accepted the fact  that it is happening. I really have a big issue with the tolls. The varible toll is bs. It shouldn't matter if I cross at midnight or 8 am. The original 520 had the right idea, flat rate 24/7. The new 520 should follow suit, with inflation of course. I think a buck a crossing seems reasonable. I would pay that instead of avoiding the bridge.