Friday, April 25, 2014

Matt surveys INDOT's "bridge to nowhere."


You can almost see INDOT scratching its turbo-powered head, muttering: "Whass them pad-estrians want, aneeway ... the hole damn werld?"
NASH: Our ‘bridge to nowhere’, by Matt Nash (N and T)

During the 2008 presidential election “the bridge to nowhere” got a lot of press. The Alaskan bridge that hundreds of millions of federal dollars were earmarked for became the poster child for pork barrel spending.

Fast forward a few years and the citizens of Southern Indiana and Louisville have been sitting around waiting for the completion of the Big Four Bridge which has been a literal “Bridge to Nowhere.”

Here's the takeaway, one that most driving commuters never stop to consider.

Most people don’t realize it but hundreds of people utilize the Clark Memorial Bridge to get to work on a daily basis. Whether walking or riding a bike you can see people on the span at all hours of the day whether for exercise or for their basic transportation needs. Without a way to cross the Ohio River many people will not be able to make it to their jobs for several weeks without being able to utilize the Big Four Bridge.

As though INDOT would consider any non-automotive conveyance, whether a bicycle or one's own feet, as constituting "transportation."

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