Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Patience in traffic

On average I drive at least 45 minutes a day. Over the years I have spoken of the misfits on the highway and traffic in general. Now with the big story in Milwaukee being the Zoo Interchange bridge in a state of decay and henceforth shut down for a couple of months, I wondered how it would impact me. I do not go over said bridge but was concerned the detour would become a pain in the ass.

JSOnline has a great picture of the scene and the detour.



I use the top green swoop to get to work. Traffic from the lower green swoop is sent eastbound for about a half mile before exiting the freeway and coming back via the top green swoop. Traffic entering from that on ramp can be a hassle as it is. Many drivers get over to that right lane and quickly move to that northbound 45 lane, usually making an illegal lane change but that is nitpicking. With the detour traffic coming on it is now backing all 3 lanes up from about 20 blocks away. It could be worse as the middle and left lanes usually flow ok but not at freeway speeds.

I am surprised most people don't do what I have done. Stay in the left or middle lane until you get just passed the problem on ramp. Find the slow moving semi and move over to the northbound lane, entering in front of the truck. Just don't cut the truck off and jam your way in. I can't think of staying in the right lane for 2 miles plodding along. Gives me shivers just thinking about it.

And we have Mayor Tom Barrett and our governor dimwit Jim Doyle to thank for this. See those other two bridges in the picture. The lighter colored ones? The light color is the wood being used to fix the those bridges. The cost is somewhat north of $16 million. The entire interchange is expected to be redone in a couple of years. That includes ripping down these new bridges. If they had started this project 3 years ago the taxpayers of Wisconsin wouldn't be throwing money down the toilet like this. Nor would they be continuing to spend $800 million on a train that no one will use.

I mean let's talk common sense here. Let's say you and other family members have inherited a house. You and your brother decide to let the older sister keep an eye on the property. You think you should get the roof replaced but your sister tells she's got a guy who told her it can be put off for a couple of years. You have agreed to give her $100 a month for seed money for the upcoming roof repairs. 3 years later you receive a gift from another relative who stayed at the house and just loved the place. Let's say $10,000. You get together with your brother and sister to discuss what to do with the money. You decide to spend in on an inground pool.

But before you make a purchase, a storm comes by and you incur serious damage to the roof. It needs to be replaced immediately. You talk with your sister and tell her use the money you and your brother have been giving her to get the roof fixed. She tells you the money isn't there. It has been spent on other things like landscaping and other improvements she thought were needed. She saw the money sitting there and put it what she thought was good use. She tells you how much it will cost and that you won't care about it when you are swimming in the pool.

So now the money you thought you had for the roof is gone. And you sister intends to go ahead with the pool? Wouldn't you think that the inheritance money should be applied to the roof?

That is the screwjob that dimwit Jim Doyle is trying to pull on the taxpayers of Milwaukee and Wisconsin. This interchange is the busiest in the state, providing commuters and haulers the best route in all directions. It is vital to the commerce of the state. So why are we still spending money on a train that is not neede when we need to fix an interchange?

It does not make sense to anyone but them and their cronies.

1 comment:

Diarrhea of the Mouth said...

I live by all that crap. It was a nightmare.