Inquiring Commuters Want To Know....
I recently heard on the news or maybe a car commercial that the average commuter spends 40 minutes a day in their car. I would say I spend approximately twice that daily, and my commute time is only increasing with the unfortunate demise of 35-W. As I have been crawling along at three miles per hour on westbound I-94 over the past few days, it has come to my attention there are at least two disturbing phenomena having to do with the repair of our roads. First, I have sighted several "No Wake" signs along the side of the highway. Are people suddenly driving their riverboats through Downtown Minneapolis? Or is it their jet skis, only in the summer? I have yet to see a water skier go by in my periphery, but hey, I guess anything's possible. At least that might add some intrigue to my otherwise uneventful ride.
The second and perhaps even more concerning detail that came to my oft-wandering attention was a very small and inconspicuous sign on the bridge that goes right past the downtown skyline. The sign measures no more than 4 X 6 inches, and reads as follows: "MN Bridge No. 21454, 1968-1993." Rest in peace, bridge number 21454. This begs the question, "Do I really want to be driving across a bridge that has been dead for 14 years?" Or if it's not dead, was 1993 the year that its bridge-hood license expired? I'm not really sure that I am comfortable with a daily, and I might add, incredibly slow, jaunt over a viaduct in such questionable state of being. I mean, I don't know about the rest of you, but if an expired bridge is going to fall in while I'm on it, I'd prefer to be going at least 80. Then I at least have a chance of some action-movie style car jumping. If I were better at directions, I would change my route to reflect my concerns. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, there are really no other options aside from 35-W, which apparently also expired or died in 1993 or earlier. It would seem that MNDot's repair queue is running about an eighth of a century behind schedule, which I guess in the historical scheme of things is really not that bad. (Being chronically late myself, I'm not about to start throwing stones from inside my glass abode....)
Anyway, it is unlikely that I will change my preferred route home, but I wanted to air my concerns to the general public. If the DBRB (Dead Bridge Revival Bill) comes through in our next election, I would encourage you all to vote YES. I promise you all that this is as political as I will ever get. Perhaps I have a future in bumper sticker sales?!
The second and perhaps even more concerning detail that came to my oft-wandering attention was a very small and inconspicuous sign on the bridge that goes right past the downtown skyline. The sign measures no more than 4 X 6 inches, and reads as follows: "MN Bridge No. 21454, 1968-1993." Rest in peace, bridge number 21454. This begs the question, "Do I really want to be driving across a bridge that has been dead for 14 years?" Or if it's not dead, was 1993 the year that its bridge-hood license expired? I'm not really sure that I am comfortable with a daily, and I might add, incredibly slow, jaunt over a viaduct in such questionable state of being. I mean, I don't know about the rest of you, but if an expired bridge is going to fall in while I'm on it, I'd prefer to be going at least 80. Then I at least have a chance of some action-movie style car jumping. If I were better at directions, I would change my route to reflect my concerns. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, there are really no other options aside from 35-W, which apparently also expired or died in 1993 or earlier. It would seem that MNDot's repair queue is running about an eighth of a century behind schedule, which I guess in the historical scheme of things is really not that bad. (Being chronically late myself, I'm not about to start throwing stones from inside my glass abode....)
Anyway, it is unlikely that I will change my preferred route home, but I wanted to air my concerns to the general public. If the DBRB (Dead Bridge Revival Bill) comes through in our next election, I would encourage you all to vote YES. I promise you all that this is as political as I will ever get. Perhaps I have a future in bumper sticker sales?!
posted by Erinn @ 7:07 PM
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