Bridge To Nowhere Abandoned

Finally.

Some called it a bridge to the future. Others called it the bridge to nowhere.

On Friday, Alaska decided the bridge really was going nowhere, officially abandoning the project in Ketchikan that became a national symbol of federal pork-barrel spending.

While the move closes a chapter that has brought the state reams of ridicule, it also leaves open wounds in a community that fought for decades to get federal help.

“We went through political hot water—tons of it—and not just nationally but internationally,” Ketchikan-Gateway Borough Mayor Joe Williams said. “We have nothing to show for it.”

The $398 million bridge would have connected Ketchikan, on one island in southeastern Alaska, to its airport on another nearby island.

Gov. Sarah Palin said Friday the project was $329 million short of full funding.

1. N o, we don’t need to “focus on the future.”

   We need to focus on what contractors got the $398 million, who owns them, how they are related to the Alaska politicians and how much they got in kickbacks for this scam. Only $300 million to finish it? I can hardly wait. The Alaska politicians have screwed their state and everybody else for a long time to come.

   Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 23, 2007 at 1503 hrs




2. The irony is that the state was already given $200 million that they don’t have to give back. They aren’t saying what they intend to do with it.

   Posted by Sandi on September 24, 2007 at 0415 hrs