Biden picked a great day to promote that bridge project

[malaise]

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/04/president-biden-cincinnati-visit-ohio-kentucky-bridge-infrastructure-law/69775431007/

President Joe Biden came to Greater Cincinnati Wednesday to tout a long-awaited Brent Spence Bridge project that he said proves Americans can still get things done if they work together.

Speaking in Covington, not far from the 60-year-old bridge that had for years been a symbol of partisan gridlock, Biden praised Republicans and Democrats in Ohio, Kentucky and Washington for setting aside their differences to fix one of the nation's most vital pieces of infrastructure.

"I believe it sends an important message, an important message to the entire country," Biden said of the new law that made the bridge project possible. "We can work together. We can get things done. We can move the nation forward."

———————-
The contrast on Prime Time News is both striking and hilarious😀😀😀😀

[Wounded Bear]

1. K & R...nt

[malaise]

3. I think he should post this in a tweet

Or maybe we can get a Dem in the House to make it her/his ring tone tonight or whistle it in a corridor 😀😀😀😀😀

[Hermit-The-Prog]

2. I wonder if that bridge is what caused McConnell to vote for the Infrastructure Bill.

[malaise]

4. Of course

With all the bridge collapses that makes sense

[irisblue]

5. There was a big fire on that bridge in Nov 2020. It is a major transportation road.

Source & video
https://www.wlwt.com/article/semitruck-explosion-closes-both-directions-of-brent-spence-bridge/34638509

Second one
https://www.fox19.com/2020/11/18/exclusive-bodycam-video-brent-spence-crash/

If I were a trucker or a road master, I'd be very uncomfortable on that bridge.


Last article-https://www.enr.com/articles/52922-best-project-highway-bridge-brent-spence-bridge-fire-rehabilitation#:~:text=On%20Nov.,and%20the%20lower%20deck's%20overlay.

[malaise]

7. Thanks for this

😀

[Deuxcents]

6. That bridge is of enormous importance..

And it’s not the only one. I’m glad to see these projects are going forward..jobs n the economy..and the reps on the floor today ragging about the policies of our “broken government “

[Thunderbeast]

8. A similar project connecting Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington is a political nightmare.

The Columbia River Crossing proposes replacement of the Interstate 5 bridges (built in 1917 and 1958) with new structures for cars, trucks, light rail, bikes, and pedestrians. Many in Vancouver want a traffic-only project. Many post in social media that the extension of light rail will import crime (aka brown people) to their fair city.

Planners in Portland want a project that does NOT stimulate more single-occupancy car trips that lead to further destruction of city neighborhoods.

The Coast Guard demands a high clearance structure to support tall river traffic generated by one upstream business. Such a high bridge would be difficult for walkers and bikers. The current drawbridge is the last one on the Interstate system. Bridge lifts and the aging machinery slows traffic to a crawl.

This metro area is one of the last holdouts when it comes to tolling. There is major resistance in both states to any plan involving user fees. Planners see it as necessary to help pay the estimated $7.5 BILLION to build it and introduce congestion pricing.. The bridge replacement has morphed into rebuilding five miles of urban freeway and five interchanges.

The project died several years ago when lawmakers in Olympia failed to fund Washington state's share. The feds have threatened to claw back millions of dollars from the states if the bridges don't get built.

A Cascadia subduction earthquake would topple the current bridges and bring the need into focus...along with the need to rebuild much of the two states.

It is a complete cluster joy! Ohio River looks EASY!

[malaise]

9. I lesrn stuff here every day

Really interesting - thanks

[Trailrider1951]

12. Thank you for posting this! In late June, 2021 I was northbound on the Amtrak Coast Starlight

heading home from a visit to Los Angeles. We had to stop just south of Portland and wait several hours for the railroad bridge (built in 1917) to be inspected before we could cross it. Oregon's transportation department halted all rail traffic over that bridge because the temperatures were in the upper 90's and low 100's during the couple of days before and during my trip. It had to be inspected to make sure that the bridge had not expanded enough in the heat to cause the rails and other parts to buckle. That bridge was never built for such heat. Can you imagine a derailment and the train going into the Columbia River?

[BumRushDaShow]

10. I'm not sure if it was that bridge

or one nearby but I know I walked over one of them to Covington, KY to say "I was in KY" (and to buy a touristy key chain ). But then the airport is actually IN KY so I technically didn't have to do that!

[malaise]

14. Very cool

😀

[BumRushDaShow]

15. That was back in the '90s

Always cool to see a state border sign as you cross a bridge.

Covington was kind of like a smaller version of Camden, NJ, a similar border city across the river from here in Philly.

[malaise]

17. That was supposed to be very cool

Must have been quite an achievement - how many miles is the bridge?
They’re talking about this now on M$NBComcast.

[BumRushDaShow]

19. The 2 bridges close to each other are actually along a narrower section of the river

so I think one is about 1/2 mile and the other is about 1/3rd of a mile. There's a 3rd old suspension bridge going over too but I know I wasn't on that (that was recently renovated).

I think it was one of the 2 from the below that look oldish at the bottom left corner -

[malaise]

20. Thanks

[BumRushDaShow]

21. You're welcome and I posted the below earlier this morning about this event

complete with the "split screen" image!

Link to tweet

Allie Raffa
·
Jan 4, 2023
@AllieRaffa
·
Follow
Replying to @AllieRaffa
Pres. Biden calls McConnell “a man of his word” for being among 19 Senate GOP’ers who helped get bill passed in 2021.
On working w/ newly divided Congress, Biden says, “We can work together, we can get things done, we can move the nation forward, we just have to drop our egos…”
0:17 / 0:17
Allie Raffa
@AllieRaffa
·
Follow
A stunning split screen:
Biden, McConnell, fmr OH GOP Sen Rob Portman, KY Dem Sen Sherrod Brown, OH’s GOP Gov Mike DeWine & KY’s Dem Gov Andy Beshear tout bipartisan successes over the last 2 yrs as chaos grows among House GOP’ers blocking McCarthy’s speakership bid a 4th time.
Image
1:39 PM · Jan 4, 2023
from Covington, KY

[malaise]

22. Great stuff

MoscowMitch is no man at his word

[BumRushDaShow]

23. And Biden knows that because...

Biden had already been a Senator for 2 terms before Turtle waltzed into the Senate in 1985.

[Joinfortmill]

11. He did. Clever, our President

[mcar]

13. CNN kept showing a split screen

of that and the House clown show.

[myohmy2]

16. the contrast...

...between pukes and Dems yesterday was astounding...

...if you couldn't see the difference between pukes and Dems yesterday then you must be politically blind...

...get some help...

[malaise]

18. Agree