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Posted on Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 5:59 a.m.

Lower Burns Park residents enjoy first view of new East Stadium Boulevard Bridges

By Erica Hobbs

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Residents of Ann Arbor's Lower Burns Park neighborhood could not have asked for a better day to celebrate the re-opening of the East Stadium Boulevard Bridges.

Under sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s, about 150 neighborhood residents and their friends enjoyed a sneak peek at the new bridge, which is scheduled to open to the public Wednesday.

The neighborhood, which has born a significant amount of the inconvenience since the bridge reconstruction began in November 2011, enjoyed a relaxing afternoon of snacks and drinks at Rose White Park and the opportunity to be the first to walk over the bridge.

In addition to neighborhood residents, the event was attended by U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje, Senior Project Manager Mike Nearing and Ward 4 Ann Arbor City Council Representatives Margie Teall and Marcia Higgins.

“Everyone seems to be really pleased,” Hieftje said. “These are the folks that had to put up with a lot of the construction and congestion, so we wanted to give them a chance to celebrate.”

Teall, who represents the neighborhood in the fourth ward, said she has heard the complaints on the bridges' construction process and traffic but was really happy how the project has been handled.

“People are just singing the praises of how beautiful the bridge looks,” she said. “It’s really important for this neighborhood. This is the neighborhood that’s felt the brunt of everything. What I’m hoping is they really feel the relief of the traffic.”

Since the start of the bridge’s reconstruction, residents of the Lower Burns Park neighborhood have had to deal with construction noise, vibrations, extra dust and added neighborhood traffic in addition to longer commute times to get across town. But the cheery residents who came out Sunday said the new bridge was worth it.

“The old bridge looked really dangerous, it was nerve-wracking before,” Ann Arbor resident Karl Dickinson said. “It’s an incredible improvement.”

Dickinson, though not a resident of the Lower Burns Park neighborhood, said he and his wife, who works at the nearby Community Day Care, go around this bridge multiple times a day and the construction has been adding an additional 10-15 minutes to their commute.

“It’s a big deal that the bridge is re-opening,” he said.

Lower Burns Park resident Andrea Zemgulys said the construction tripled her commute time to get across town, especially during rush hour, but she said the old bridge needed to be replaced.

“It was falling apart,” she said. “I wouldn’t walk under it.”

Molly Bissonnette, who lives only three houses away from the start of the bridge, said she, in particular, has had to deal with extra noise and dust, but she wasn’t complaining. She said the bridge workers had been friendly and informative during the construction process.

“It was fun watching [the bridge] go down and come back up again,” she said. “I knew it was going to be good when it was done.”

The $22.8 million project has involved demolishing and replacing the former bridges that span over State Street and the Ann Arbor Railroad tracks. The city deemed the bridges, built in 1928, as obsolete, not complying with today’s design standards and lacking the required horizontal and vertical clearances and has had to reduce the bridges’ traffic load to compensate in recent years.

The new bridges feature improved sight distances, on-street bike lanes, sidewalks on both sides of the road, better street lighting, greater vertical and horizontal clearances and new staircases that will make pedestrian access to Michigan Stadium easier. The project also included enhancements to Rose White Park and new landscaping.

Nearing said he was proud and relieved that the project was finishing. He said he was pleased with the event’s turnout and happy to be able to give back to the neighborhood that bore the brunt of the construction disturbance.

“This day is really about all these folks and getting this all done,” he said. "This is for them. I’m just glad they’re happy.”

Comments

Terry Star21

Tue, Nov 13, 2012 : 2:32 a.m.

The police allowed us to walk over it Saturday afternoon just after the game. It is a great piece of architecture and engineering. The walkways on both sides are wide with a short concrete wall and then a metal railing allowing visibility to see the campus, golf courses , etc. The bridge was very long and seemed much higher in the middle. All in all it is a masterpiece of work and the transit authority, commuters, public and all visiters to Ann Arbor will love it. What a beautiful piece of work !

Bulldog

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 8:34 p.m.

Is there any art?

Brad

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 10:29 p.m.

They have $400K of our tax dollars allocated, so it's only a matter of time. I'd rather have my leaves collected from the street any day.

81wolverine

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 5:38 p.m.

Finally - this is good news. This neighborhood event was a good idea to thank local residents for their patience and all the inconvenience. I hope though that they have (or will) resurfaced the section of Stadium Blvd. from the bridge toward S. Main. That was really bad before this project and my guess is that it isn't any better with all the trucks that have gone through there.

Terry Star21

Tue, Nov 13, 2012 : 2:44 a.m.

Did you go to the game ? They let us walk over it after the game.

nickcarraweigh

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 5:16 p.m.

In particular, the trolls are very happy indeed to finally be out of the weather.

MRunner73

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 5:02 p.m.

The main story line should be about the actual opening to all traffic on the bridges on Wednesday. Perhaps there will be another story to come. This means that the upcoming last home football game will see a better traffic flow. All detour signs on Main Street and Ann Arbor-Saline along with Industrial street can be taken down. Glad the project was completed ahead of schedule.

Frustrated in A2

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 4:49 p.m.

Will the bridge still have two westbound and two eastbound lanes? I know how the city as of late likes to narrow down main roadways.

Terry Star21

Tue, Nov 13, 2012 : 2:36 a.m.

We walked it Saturday and although not yet marked, it look to be at least four lanes and maybe two bicycle lanes wide.

Dave

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 4:33 p.m.

So, when is it open to drive on?

Dave

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 9:01 p.m.

It says it now...it didn't say it when it was published.

PhillyCheeseSteak

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 8:02 p.m.

Will there be 4 lanes (2 lanes each direction) open to traffic on Wednesday?

Ryan J. Stanton

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 5:46 p.m.

The article says "is scheduled to open to the public Wednesday."

Brad

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 5:27 p.m.

Are we going to have a "Garage Mahal" style "Grand Opening" where they have a big party and then close it for two more weeks?

Dave

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 5:15 p.m.

Well, thanks. The article didn't say.

Paula Gardner

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 4:45 p.m.

Wednesday.

Nick

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 3:57 p.m.

Interesting photo gallery of the new bridge. It shows nothing of the bridge. There are six photos: three show nothing of the bridge. The three that do show the bridge are nice tight shots showing only a small segment of the bridge. One of them actually show nothing of what the bridge looks like, it just show the end of a railing. Why didn't you post some wide angle framing shots showing the entire bridge?

Terry Star21

Tue, Nov 13, 2012 : 2:38 a.m.

mohomed - you are so correct !

ThinkingOne

Tue, Nov 13, 2012 : 12:05 a.m.

Gotta think real carefully here - it's all in the headline: 'Lower Burns Park residents enjoy first view of new East Stadium Boulevard Bridges' You or I may think that if we were to hit this link, that we too would get a look at the bridge. However, we are getting exactly what the headline tells us to expect: pictures of the residents enjoying THEIR view of the bridge. Maybe Wednesday or Thursday we will get a link to just 'Pictures of the new bridge', and we will all be happier.

mohomed

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 8:24 p.m.

Because this is the AAnews. Just be glad they didn't delete your comment. They don't like it when your views don't agree with theirs and will quickly have your voice in the community destroyed even though you support their paid advertisers they use online.

justcurious

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 3:50 p.m.

Happy for the commuters but long overdue. I too have never heard of "Lower Burns Park". But then the whole time I was growing up in Ann Arbor I was also ignorant of "Water Hill". I guess it's just cool to name your neighborhood now. Glad I don't live in site of a bridge though.

Terry Star21

Tue, Nov 13, 2012 : 2:40 a.m.

justcurious.....it is a very beautiful bridge though - best in the area.

Elena

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 3:42 p.m.

This was a huge job and I can't wait for the road to be reopened Wednesday. Like other readers, my commute time was doubled to allow for this project. Thank you to the construction workers that re-built our bridges!

chapmaja

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 3:41 p.m.

There are two big reasons the RR would not go for an intersection at the location and wanted the bridge kept in place. The first is costs. A railroad is responsible for all signals at railroad crossings. This is not as cheap as many people think, and would have been a huge expense to a small railroad company. The second, is where the tracks are. Had this been the bridge on Eisenhower by South Industrial that needed to be replaced, they may have agreed. This wasn't that bridge, it was the bridge over the south lead into a railroad yard. Ferry Yard, which hasn't been used regulally since the mid-1980's is still in place. They still use the passing siding in the yard on occassion as well. Putting in a crossing instead of a bridge would mean the railroad would often block the intersection when running through AA, or when they use the siding to swtich cars around. That would have been a public relations issue as the stoppage could be for an extended period of time. One additional thing to consider, is the speed limit of trains in AA. If the railroad runs a 100 car grain train through town, it would be roughly 6000 feet of train. That is over 1 mile in length. On tracks that have a speed limit of 10 mph it would mean that 6000 foot train would take almost 7 minutes to clear the crossing. The traffic backup that could be caused by a 7-10 minute delay (sometimes big heavy loaded grain trains don't even maintain 10 mph through town) at a minimum. I know the AARR has started running double grain trains, whcih meas 2 64 car trains run together. A 128 car train at 10 mph will take 10 minutes to clear a crossing. A train of this length will completely block up Ann Arbor. If the bridge is open, that gives a much needed bypass around blockages by slow moving trains. This is why so many communities have invested in grade seperation projects, much like the bridges the RR takes over several streets in AA already.

belboz

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 6:45 p.m.

Well, there are 8 crossings through downtown Ann Arbor that do not have bridges, one just 200 yards away on State Street. Are we going to be building bridges over them? I guess not. Which is why this bridge is really not "needed." I don't doubt that it was wanted, though. 23 million for wants is not what the city or the country can afford. People seem to want the $16 trillion debt to be resolved, without the actual hard part of not approving projects like this and instead rationalizing every reason why they are needed. Again, that is why we have $16 trillion in debt. Lots of rationalizers.

a2citizen

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 4:20 p.m.

You lost me when you started making sense.

leaguebus

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 4:06 p.m.

Good post, thanks.

LXIX

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 3:02 p.m.

Taxpayer/Chinese cost too high? Ha! Just wait for the Canadian version. Or do what Mr. Moroun does. That bridge will be paid off in no time. In fact, errect electronic toll booths for all the bridges and then sell a few thousands EZ pass commuter cards. The city could pave all their roads and sidewalks here.

Basic Bob

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 4:25 p.m.

Rick's bridge will charge a toll. The bridge will only cost actual money to the people who use it. A side benefit will be a huge number of union construction jobs and a whole lot of steel and concrete that union mills will produce. All those workers will be able to keep their homes, buy a new truck, and take their families out to eat. In the meantime, Moroun's bridge will get a little paint but continue to collect enough in tolls to build a few little bridges every year.

cbs

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 3:01 p.m.

I grew up on Golden Ave. Our neighborhood did not have a "name." Burns Park was the area immediately around the park from Packard to maybe Brockman and Stadium to probably Wells or a bit beyond. I don't know when it became "Lower."

ThinkingOne

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 4:54 p.m.

I will go out on a limb here. I would assume the term came into use when some real estate agent wanted to sell a house for a hunk more than it was worth. Tying it into Burns Park somehow might seem like a viable option to raise apparent value.

smokeblwr

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 3:48 p.m.

It became lower when the rich people decided they were better than you.

Brad

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 3:47 p.m.

I've lived here a lot of years and never heard of the "lower" version until the last ten. There was just "Burns Park" without all the variants. I don't doubt that it did have that name, I just don't think hardly anyone used it. Probably made popular by real estate agents. Sounds better than "student ghetto".

mohomed

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:45 p.m.

I like my taxes going to stuff like this. Wish more of this money went to these types of projects that everyone can enjoy. I say less section 8 welfare stuff and more projects that benefit society and create jobs for hard working constuction workers that work outside in nasty michigan weather.

Basic Bob

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 4:18 p.m.

Straight out of 1933

leaguebus

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 4:02 p.m.

That's right, let them starve till we find a public works project to do.

smokeblwr

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:42 p.m.

I find it interesting they built the bridge through "Lower" Burns Park and not the tenured "Upper" Burns Park.....

Rod Johnson

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 7:09 p.m.

The first bridge was built 95 years ago--I don't think this was really a concern at the time. Not really sure what relevance your "money talks" would have had in 1917 Ann Arbor.

smokeblwr

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 3:47 p.m.

That makes it even more interesting....money talks.

Brad

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:47 p.m.

Could it be because that's where the roads are?

fjord

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:17 p.m.

Just in time for the last home football game.

Terry Star21

Tue, Nov 13, 2012 : 2:41 a.m.

Go Blue !

Brad

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:30 p.m.

Which is earlier than their prediction. Compare this to the DDA's "Garage Mahal" effort for some contrasts in effective project management.

ToddAustin

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:06 p.m.

Your first photo should be captioned to show that it's Rep. Dingell speaking with the local residents. Your article also fails to credit him for securing the federal money which not only allowed the project to proceed, but also allowed Ann Arbor to expend funds to repair roads across the city. This was a win for our infrastructure and for the quality of city streets and should be acknowledged as such.

Ryan J. Stanton

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 5:44 p.m.

Thanks, Todd. I've changed the caption.

Sue

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:04 p.m.

SO glad it's finally finished but, a few pictures of the actual bridge would have been nice!

mike gatti

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 1:47 p.m.

Just in time. It is really just a tiny, tiny, tiny thing when you think of what other people in the world go through but the detour was getting old (for my spoiled sensibility).

PhillyCheeseSteak

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 1:42 p.m.

Will all lanes be open on Wednesday? I thought that only one lane in each direction was being opened, and that construction was continuing for another year. Is construction over?

golfer

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 1:31 p.m.

it was a nice thing to do. let the people whom had to deal with it mostly get first look. smart and nice thought by all.

A2since74

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 1:24 p.m.

Now City Council and the City Administration can focus on a strategy to maintain and repair streets. South Seventh in the Lawton Area is a good starting place for Teal and Higgins. It was resurfaced far more recently than Delaware Drive, but is in far worse shape.

DNB

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 8:54 p.m.

@Brad Yes, my original comment was written in my sarcastic font, sorry you couldn't tell. I'm a very optimistic woman, but I also know Ms. Teall's track record.

Brad

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 8:42 p.m.

@DNB - I hope you're right but I'll still take the "over" on 6 months.

DNB

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 8:06 p.m.

Next photo op for the 4th Ward women will be the Georgetown demolition...in 6 months - maybe.

A24Mee

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 3:20 p.m.

And Madison!!

Brad

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:52 p.m.

You won't see Teall and Higgins in the same place again until there's another photo op.

DJBudSonic

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 1:19 p.m.

Now if we can just slap some expensive public art on here somewhere all will be good in the world. Oh, and take that cable spool in the picture off of there.

Brad

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:13 p.m.

That's already part of the plan ... I wonder what color blinky lights we get this time?

hardtoread

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 12:52 p.m.

Maybe someone should read the article before it is published for mistakes in spelling, grammar and similar things. They used to call that proofreading, but that was only at big newspapers.

RedSchwinn

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 9:07 p.m.

OK, Ryan, but only because you asked... In the third paragraph, the neighborhood has "borne" the inconvenience. "Borne" is the participial form of the verb "to bear". It's no fun being a grammar Nazi, but sometimes this stuff just screams to be let out of the old braincase.

Ryan J. Stanton

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 5:41 p.m.

I corrected the spelling of the mayor's name and caught a couple other mistakes in the article. If you see anything else, let me know and I'll fix it.

CLX

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 4:26 p.m.

It would also be nice for kids and teens to see something well written and close to perfect. It's hard to ask kids to be tough on their own writing and to edit thoroughly when they see so few adults take the time to do the same.

Paula Gardner

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 3:01 p.m.

We do appreciate when readers point out mistakes. We obviously try to avoid them, but there are fewer sets of eyes on content than back in the proofreading days of the 1980s or so. One of my first newspaper jobs was at the Michigan Daily, where I'd have to go into the pressroom to use the "blue pen" to mark up copies of Weekend Magazine while it was on the boards (and Lucius Doyle was waiting to send it off to be printed). That type of system was still in place at the Ann Arbor News in the 1990s - we'd take turns looking at full sheets that were being sent to press. There are different systems now, but we do still value accuracy. A little off-topic, but like PattyinYpsi, I also get annoyed at typos that I catch in other venues. The misused apostrophes on papers that come home from school are particularly grating. Those times remind me of the responsibility we have here to keep striving for 100 percent accuracy.

Rod Johnson

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:25 p.m.

It is true, though, that a lot of elementary mistakes make their way into "print" on this site. Case in point: "The city deemed the bridges, built in 1928, as obsolete"--no, the city deemed them obsolete, not "deemed as." It's not a huge deal, but it does make the site feel less than fully professional. Criticisms like this aren't intended to belittle the writers, I don't think; everyone makes mistakes. They're a plea for more support for the writers, instead of annarbor.com's skeleton-crew approach to staffing.

SemperFi

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:02 p.m.

@Patty: And there were still mistakes after the editors & proofreaders did their magic.

PattyinYpsi

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 1:57 p.m.

@mlivesaline: No one is "acting like they're perfect." You may be too young to remember when nothing was printed--not a newspaper, magazine, book, or church bulletin--without having gone under the eyes of a proofreader. The idea was to catch mistakes that made the text harder to read. Today, virtually nothing is proofread, and some of us miss that attention to detail.

mlivesaline

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 1:06 p.m.

Quite often I read these kinds of comments. Comments where the person commenting is acting like they're perfect. I'm don't quite understand why they do it. Do they have some sort of grudge against people that write these articles? Are they reliving some sort of bad past experience where their english teacher made them stay after school and write, "I will improve my spelling", over and over? To all of these people ... how about you just get over yourself and just read the article. Everyone makes mistakes and I have a newsflash for you, there will be more from time to time. Ann Arbor.com does a fine job. Thank you Ann Arbor.com. ps. I hope my spelling and grammar errors don't ruin your day!

Urban Sombrero

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 12:51 p.m.

Yay! I am so happy about this. My commute has taken almost twice as long since the bridge has been closed. It'll be nice to save time and gas again. From what I can see in the pictures, it looks great. I can't wait to check it out on Wednesday.

PattyinYpsi

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 1:59 p.m.

I wish there had been more pictures of the bridge itself! But the main thing is that I, like everyone else, is thrilled that it is done and that we can all resume our normal driving routes over a non-crumbling bridge.

Tex Treeder

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 12:38 p.m.

Lower Burns Park? I've never heard of this neighborhood. Is there an Upper Burns Park as well? Or is this some real estate agent fiction, like "Germantown"?

Michigan Man

Tue, Nov 13, 2012 : 12:55 a.m.

I lived on East Park Place in 1955 - 1411 East Park Place and then moved to 1412 East Park Place. Back in the 1950's it was called the "Black Bottom", no doubt named after the residents on Woodlawn. This post will now probably be viewed as racist, not historically correct, and removed.

bluetonguedlizard

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 4:02 p.m.

@Brad I think the South Burns Park/Iroquois St thing is code for "you get to go to Burns Park Elementary", most other streets that side of Stadium no longer attend Burns Park.

Jessica Webster

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 3:23 p.m.

It's the portion of the Burns Park neighborhood that's west of Packard. I think it was named by the homeowners in the "upper" part of the neighborhood. I was renting on Granger when I was a newly married twenty-something back in the 90s, and was exuberantly raving about my lovely new Burns Park neighborhood to the clerk at the old Food & Drug Mart. An older woman standing behind me looked over my shoulder at the address printed on my check and sniffed: "You live in LOWER Burns Park, dear." That was the first time I heard that neighborhood designator. I moved back to the neighborhood 7 years ago, and am happy to see that the community has embraced the name. We call ourselves LoBuPa now. :)

Rod Johnson

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:22 p.m.

Uh, "Lower Burns Park" has been in common use for years. It was called that when I lived there in the late seventies.

Brad

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:04 p.m.

I saw someone a few years ago selling a house on Iroquois (south of Stadium) claiming it was "South Burns Park", and there already is something that calls itself "North Burns Park". Me - I live in midwest Beverly Hills. As far as "Germantown", until they have their first Oktoberfest I'm not buying it.

Basic Bob

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 1:17 p.m.

Craig, the real Burns Park residents already have a name for your neighborhood - Ypsilanti.

fishjamaica

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 1:16 p.m.

West South West Burns Park, (Perch Lake), giving a shout out here!

Craig Lounsbury

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 12:47 p.m.

Evidently there is a "lower burns park" I looked it up. I noticed east burns park isn't taken, so i am claiming it for my neighborhood off Packard and Platt.

Tex Treeder

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 12:38 p.m.

I'm glad the bridge is finished, though.

a2citizen

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 12:14 p.m.

That's a couple weeks ahead of schedule, I believe. Good job.

Jim Osborn

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 12:09 p.m.

It is a very nice bridge, but with no trees along the railroad tracks. But, did this bridge need to be built? $23,000,000 is a lot of money. Other bridges built recently in other parts of the county have cost a lot less. Since federal money was used, the city chose the most expensive bridge; a method done across the nation. This is responsible in part for our high federal deficit. This intersection also could have been a normal intersection such as the one at Eisenhower or at Huron, instead of a bridge. The city said that there was not enough room for a right turn lane, but we all know that there are many, many "NO TURN ON RED" signs, making this a moot point. The portion over the railroad tracks was not condemned, and could have waited. The city, instead of using its highway or street maintenance funds to keep Ann Arbor's streets in repair, saved it for the bridge project in case federal funding fell through. They never considered a 30-year bond at today's very low interest rates, freeing up the street repair money to repair our roads. Now Ann Arbor roads are just awful. Especially if one rides a bike, as the potholes are so dangerous. I love how Congressman John Dingell shows up so he can say, "Look at me, I am returning some of your federal tax dollars to you" along with a $23,000,000 IOU to China. Total politician.

Rory Williams

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 10:52 p.m.

You know what? I think he is right in that the federal deficit can be attributed to BRIDGE BUILDING. ..........

Jay Davenport

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 4:33 p.m.

No dude you're right. This bridge didn't be to be built. Great insight...thanks for your contribution.

leaguebus

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 3:58 p.m.

Even David Stockman who was one of the proponents of "starve the beast" idea to reduce government size by cutting taxes realizes it didn't work. It has ruined our educational system, left no money for much needed infrastructure upgrades, and driven municipalities to cut public safety to the bone? Thanks to John Dingell for finding the Federal funds.

Chris

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:47 p.m.

The railroad wouldn't go for the intersection and therefore it was never an option for this project.

Eep

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:35 p.m.

Shouldn't you say, "The bridge has been built; get over it."

Rod Johnson

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:21 p.m.

Your "normal intersection" idea was raised over and over and over before the bridge was approved, and was convincingly rebutted every time. I'm hoping that some day bridge opponents will be able to move on. The bridge has been built; deal with it.

fjord

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 2:09 p.m.

There were numerous reasons why the bridges had to be replaced with new bridges instead of leveling the road and creating an intersection. If you'd been following this story for the past couple of years you'd have known that. Bridge repair is not responsible for the high federal deficit. A partisan ideology that offers no economic ideas aside from constant tax cuts is responsible for the high federal deficit.

mike gatti

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 1:45 p.m.

Once there was a little joy but alas it had to be killed.

Jim Osborn

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 1:21 p.m.

Of course a bridge is preferred to an intersection, especially when we are not paying for it. It is two separate bridges, not a single bridge. Even if China owns a fraction of our debt, once Americans buy all that they are willing to buy, we then turn to foreigners to buy the rest. So, in a sense, foreigners finance this bridge. Crossing "active railroad tracks" is actually much less expensive since tracks are narrow and easy to span when compared to a wide road, especially one with bicycle lanes and sidewalks.

Craig Lounsbury

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 12:39 p.m.

China owns about 8% of our debt.

arborarmy

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 12:35 p.m.

Our member of the House of Representatives is a politician? Noooooooooooooooo! Perish the thought.

Tesla

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 12:33 p.m.

Debbie Downer in the house. Bridge looks nice and was really necessary.

AfterDark

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 12:27 p.m.

Given that this bridge also crossed active railroad tracks I suspect that budgets of other, less complicated bridge projects would not have sufficed for this project. Those same railroad tracks are what deem a bridge preferable to flat intersections at both State St. and the tracks.

Bashir McCrutcheon

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 12:03 p.m.

In addition to the neighborhood, the event was attended by..............anyone needing a photo op, lol!

StopCrying

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 11:37 a.m.

Bueno!

Arieswoman

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 : 11:04 a.m.

About time!

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