So, apparently this "Bridge ot Nowhere" was a bridge to a regional airport...

[MrScorpio]

That can only be gotten to by ferry.

And that bridge would have cut off commuting time significantly, had it been built.

A lot of people depend on that airport to get around because, unlike the rest of the country, people can't get to the places they need by road.

And initially as Da Guv, Palin thought is was a great idea.

But when the politics against the bridge turned dirty, and coincidentally against the people of Alaska, Palin jumped in bed with the folks who misrepresented the proposal.

Shouldn't I be reading somewhere that Alaskans are pissed off at their own governor every time she blurts out, "thanks, but no thanks?"


Something's missing in the dialog here.

[Billy Burnett]

1. I hate pork/earmarks. Unless my reps get some for my district.

Memememememememe

[Eric J in MN]

2. "Palin 'bridge to nowhere' line angers many Alaskans"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080901/pl_nm/usa_politics_palin1_dc_1

[progressivebydesign]

3. It was a bridge of convenience for people who liked to shop in Seattle...

basically. They didn't want to have to haul their purchases on a ferry so they wanted a bridge. It wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement of the bridge that I read. People got tired of having to drag all the crap they bought in Seattle onto a ferry. Was not necessary to public safety, and only used by people flying out of state to buy things.

[NYC_SKP]

5. Using that ferry can't be any worse than using Dulles.

I hate that fucking airport and it's tram between terminal and terminal...with or without bags.

[NYC_SKP]

4. Yes, not to nowhere, to an airport. First thing I did was Goodle map this.

So it was never a bridge to nowhere, it was a bridge to an International airport built before this whole hoopla.

The original fuss was whether it should be federally funded or state funded, the new fuss is what Palin said about it and her lies, and whether it was right to take the money and use it on other projects.

Wikipedia:

Around the World War II era, air service to Ketchikan was possible using an old military airfield on Annette Island. Aircraft used in that era included the Grumman Goose and Catalina PBY. The current airport was opened on August 4th, 1973 and dedicated the following day. The airport opening was the culmination of an effort by local residents, a 1965 study by the Alaska State Division of Aviation, another study in 1967 choosing the current site on Gravina Island, and land clearing in 1969.

Ferries provide service between Ketchikan and it's international airport.

There is no road access between Ketchikan and the airport. A bridge, sometimes referred to "bridge to nowhere", was proposed costing an estimated $398 million. After protracted attention to the high cost of the bridge, the U.S. federal government changed its original decision to fund the bridge in 2007. The money was transferred to the state of Alaska to determine the use of the funds.



:patriot:

[Alhena]

6. Obama should run on a platform of building the bridge (j/k)

[NYC_SKP]

7. He has used the line" they're building a bridge to nowhere..."

(In my presidency,) we're gonna build a bridge to Somewhere!"

[dansolo]

11. The nowhere part is the other end of the bridge

The issue with the bridge is that the number of residents of the island is relatively small. It was the outrageous cost per resident that had people so up in arms. At least get the facts straight.

[regnaD kciN]

15. The cost may be a legitimate issue...

...but, considering that about 95% of the traffic would be carrying travelers going to and from the airport, the number of residents on the island is really irrelevant. By that standard, you could criticize the people of Massachusetts for taking federal money to build the Callahan Tunnel -- since all it did was connect Boston with Logan Airport, which has practically no residents.

[NYC_SKP]

21. Get your facts straight?

Read my comment, nothing there that isn't true.

Your tone, "get the fact straight" is bullshit, and unless you've been there, like I have twice, you should do a little research.

Many news stories suggested that it was a bridge to 50 people, never mentioned the airport.

Biased reporting is wrong, even when it's biased in our favor.

We're all democrats here and support Obama and you should consider the tone of the way you respond to others here.

[regnaD kciN]

12. I visited Ketchikan twelve years ago...

...we came in by ship, but I do remember taking a tour bus along the harbor, and seeing the airport off across the water. It seemed like a strange arrangement to me.

I think it would make sense to have a bridge there, but can't see how they could shoehorn one in, especially since allowing ship traffic through that waterway would require the bridge to be very tall, with a steep approach and descent. That may well be why the cost was so high.

[sad sally]

19. but Alaska now has a "road to nowhere"

in our local paper today was an article from Juneau that sez': Alaska's transportation dept completed a $25 million gravel road leading to the site where the bridge will/might/huh? go - was built with federal tax dollars.

goes on to say "Ketchikan Mayor Bot Weinstein said the 3.2 mile (gravel) road will be useful for road races, hunters and possibly future development. But with no bridge to serve it, that's probably about it." "I think it will be good for recreational things like a 5K and a 10K, and instead of people walking through brush, it may be used for hunting in the area."

guess this should be useful for the Palin snow machine/hunting family?

[On the Road]

8. After Learning More About the Situation

I didn't feel as bad about the bridge to nowhere. The other factor was that the city of Ketchikan is surrounded by mountains and the island was the only area in which the city could expand.

Alaska has a tiny population, a vast area, and infrastructure is expensive, especially on a per-person basis. Support from the Feds is the only way to develop the state.

All this I understand. It makes it difficult, however, for the governor to run as an opponent of pork. And it shows Palin as an opportunist who is willing to turn on a dime for a shot at a promotion\.

[johnaries]

10. What I don't understand is why the bridge cost almost $400 million.

Is it something about the terrain, or did they just want all the bells and whistles?

[On the Road]

23. I Don't Either

Don't know how long it was or how much bridges cost today. I'm sure that bridges have to be overengineered for the cold in Alaska; the building season is short; hourly jobs pay extremely well; and materials have to be imported.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

22. 'Support from the feds is the only way to develop the state'. What about oil royalties currently

doled out to Alaskans at the rate of thousands of dollars per citizen per year?

Why should not all of those revenues be used to develop the State of Alaska before pleading for handouts from Lower 48 taxpayers?

[ProgressiveEconomist]

9. The bridge would have connected Nowhere (Population 7,500) to Nowhere (Pop. 50)

See http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122090791901411709.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

The population of the "city" of Ketchikan is 7,500. Many other MSM sources point out the population of Gravina Island is 50.

[regnaD kciN]

13. No, it would have connected one of the four biggest cities in southeast Alaska...

...to the airport which, except for cruise ships, is the only way to get anywhere else (there's no road or rail access to anywhere outside of Ketchikan itself -- everything has to be brought in by ship or airplane).

[ProgressiveEconomist]

14. What's the population of Ketchikan again?

And what are the populations of cities in SE AK larger than Ketchikan?

[regnaD kciN]

17. The four cities in southeast Alaska...

...are Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, and Skagway. I don't know which order they rank in population, although I'm pretty sure Juneau is the largest. When I visited them, it struck me that Ketchikan seemed larger than Sitka, but I can't guarantee that. (I never visited Skagway.) All four of them are in the same situation -- cut off from the rest of the continent by road, and dependent on sea or air traffic for everything.

And, although each of them may seem tiny by "lower 48" standards, they are major commercial-fishing and tourist centers.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

18. I rest my case.

"Lower 48 standards" should IMO apply to waste of Lower 48 Money.

A dollar is a dollar, and why shold hundreds of millions of them be taken from Lower 48 taxpayers and lavished on those who have chosen to live Nowhere?

Would the proposed Ketchikan-Gravina bridge lead to higher Federal tax revenues from Ketchikan? How long would it take for those future revenues, discounted at 5 percent, to outstrip the $400 million cost of the bridge and approach roads? How many centuries?

[zbdent]

16. McCain/Palin 08 - "Bridge to Nowhere"; Clinton/Gore 92 - "Bridge to the Future"

and which one really did something for this nation?

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

20. And tomorrow if the consensus of opinion is that the bridge really is necessary,

Palin will be saying "I was for the bridge to nowhere, after I was against it, after I was for it."