The Seattle Times reports: "I-90 floating bridge can be made safe for rail, officials say"
Sound Transit says it has figured out how to run trains across the Interstate 90 floating bridge without being derailed by wind and waves ... But [Expert Review] panelist Alan Kiepper, retired president of New York City Transit, said heavy trains would load the span to 97 percent of its intended capacity. He even mentioned the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which collapsed in 1940 in a notorious case of hubris by engineers.Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at July 21, 2006 08:53 AM | Email This"Let me say, 'I have great concerns about the use of the bridge for light rail, and probably buses, and 97 percent is not a comfortable figure for me,' " Kiepper said.
Losing the I90 bridge, with deaths in the hundreds might wake up the public to the utterly insane and dangerous planning going on at WSDOT, etc.
But dont hold your breath------other than when crossing the floating bridge in the wind next to a choo choo.
So far, $90 million I90 squirrel bridges, empty bike lanes, HOV wet dreams, insane costing train schemes, an asthmatic and tottering Viaduct, empty buses clogging up traffic, already losing one I90 floating bridge to planning incompetence, has not woken the general public up....yet...
but a death bath will......
Posted by: Hank on July 21, 2006 09:18 AMSome of what RTID would address has huge merit: redoing the SR 520 bridge and its approaches, for example. But approving yet a third unaccountable board with unlimited taxing authority (just like SMP and ST) should prove beyond even what the voters of this region can stomach. That is especially the case with this upcoming joint ballot measure, because the necessary road and bridge fixes the RTID campaign supporters will harp on will come burdened with a voracious parasite - ST2. Sound Transit's "billions for Bellevue yuppie commuters" plan certainly would fail standing alone. Isolating ST2 by defeating the joint ballot offering that is heading our way must be priority one.
Can anyone remember the Sound Transit Train derailment in Tacoma at the Sounder Station? The engineers designed the area where the train's park to withstand a 9.5 earthquake...but it did not take a week before a train FELL OFF the tracks! It took 6 months and who knows how much money to fix!!!
In Tacoma, on Pacific Avenue, where the Tacoma Link runs, the sub-straight of the road is failing after just two years of service!
Now they tell us that they can run the Sounder Trains across Lake Washington on the floating bridge...sound like a "WET DREAM" to me!!!
Ummmm, you forgot the 100 million in sound walls and the 100 million for cable barriers in that delightful tax package.
I consider the 5 million for the Seattle trolley car in south lake union to be a waste of taxpayer funds also.
Posted by: sgmmac on July 21, 2006 10:12 AMAlso Washington State DOT has sunk 2 bridges already (Hood Canal and I-90) so I would not rely on their expertise in determining if something is safe
Has anyone considered running light rail on the BNSF track that goes from Renton to Everett?
This is the operating railroad that Ron Sims wants to purchased, decommission, and make into a bike trail
Also there is the old Interurban that runs from Seattle to Tacoma and Seattle to Everett
Has anyone considered returning this to light rail?
Currently most of it is owned by the electric companies and or has become roads
The problem with using the BNSF track from Renton to Everett, which would be a big $ saver, is that the tracks are ~3 feet too close to each other - An employee of BNSF (for 20+ years) told me this several years ago. Remember what happened to the Monorail last November - the same would happen with light rail and any other trains passing simultaneously - due to the closeness of the tracks.
The other option would be to move on set of tracks say 5' farther away - how much would this cost ? Is it feasible ? and how does the cost compare with the other options currently on the table ? These questions need to be asked.
Posted by: KS on July 21, 2006 06:26 PMBut I'm sure given their divine need for Limo's, Town Cars and Big Ass Hybrids plus a dedicated driver who takes two round trips each day just to get their sorry ass's to their Penthouse suites, they will never choose Light Rail for their own means of getting to and from work.
So let's just hope that a light Rail full of commuters is never on the bridge when both of these hypocrites are taking their tanks to or from Bellevue!
It would not be a pretty sight!
Forget Sound Transit.
Posted by: just sayin' on July 21, 2006 10:30 PMCurrently the Diner Train runs from Renton to St Michelle and other local freight is delivered.
At one time Boeing was shipping fusealages from Renton to Everett
There may be passing tracks, but I am not sure where they exist outside of Renton
Fill Lake Washington, get the fill dirt off of Rainer it blocks the view to the South, build new N-S link, several E-W links and use the rest of the new land for housing.
Insert evil laugh. Bawahahahah.
Posted by: JCM on July 22, 2006 01:22 PMTake off your tinfoil hats folks and recognize reality. We need solutions to our traffic problems caused by our growing economy and continued influx of people. If you don't have a solution to put forward, keep your mouth(s) shut and PC blatherings to reasonable level.
The reason we have the transportation gridlock situation we now have is because of those who offer no solutions but only complain about suggested alternatives.
Posted by: Sammy on July 23, 2006 06:03 PMSure mass transit isn't for everyone, and it isn't intended to move a majority of commuters. It is designed to take cars off (including and especially single occupant vehicles) the road and provide an alternative to get from place to place. And, yes, it is supplemented by transit, buses, & car pools and van pools. Imagine if we were able to shift 300,000 riders onto rail and off roads. So you want gov't workers to be mandated to ride mass transit. Good idea. Go ahead and try to get it passed into law and union settlements.
Yes, you can "rail" against new highrise residential structures in Seattle and Bellevue, but the fact is they are being built and sold as fast as they are put on the market. There is also a whole lotta office space being built in these two downtown core areas and only one parking space is built for every 2.5 workers. How are these employees going to get to and from work without a mix of transit, rail, and car/van pools? The status quo ain't working and the growth continues -- either accomodate the growth or try and stop it. Good luck on the latter...it never has worked to stop growth, ask an enviro.
Posted by: Sammy on July 23, 2006 08:44 PMYour arguement against mandating Public Sector Employees from utilizing Mass transit is exactly why the underlying transit options do not work for Non-public sector employees as well. So why do it? No congestion relief will come of it. The increasing Vancouverisation of downtown Seattle will leave it the soul less honeycomb of highrises, blotting out the sun from almost every angle.
People with families and the financial capabilties to do so will flee as they are today (over 100,000 school aged children in Seattle Public schools in the 1960's to just over 46,000 today with the overall population more than doubling). If you want to live in a 500 sq. ft. studio for $200,000 then go ahead, be prepared to really love thy neighbor,his taste in music, his penchant for midnight parties and the like.
As to the totally unwise practice of allowing buildout without proper parking I simply look to who has been in charge of the process for the last couple of decades,same names,same outcome,no improvements. If the Leadership of this State and County cannot or will not mandate transit use for their own public employees because of union considerations I guess we finally have an answer as to who is really driving the agenda and it's not for the good of the people.
Posted by: Huh? on July 23, 2006 09:45 PM