520 bridge

From Seattle Wiki

The 520 bridge, also called the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, runs East from Seattle to Medina across Lake Washington.

[edit] Design of the bridge

The bridge is a floating or pontoon bridge, supported by floating barges. It is the longest floating bridge in existence.

[edit] Dangerous flaws

The bridge was poorly designed, with hollow, multi-section towers, which are prone to collapse during an earthquake. Solid, single section towers are much stronger but are more expensive to build.

At its ends, the bridge is tethered by cables; if one of these cables snaps, such as during a windstorm, the bridge could float away from the shore and sink.

Since its initial construction, the state has compounded the design flaws, adding additional "features" to the bridge which make it heavier, placing greater load on its deck and support cables.

[edit] Replacement plans

Due to design flaws, state wants to replace the 520 bridge. Plans are controversial because they call for several reasons.

[edit] Unending tolls

Part of the replacement plan is a large toll, as high as $9, on the bridge. Commuters feel that the state is responsible for the poor design of the bridge, and they should not beer the brunt of the cost of replacing the bridge. The current bridge was paid for with tolls, meaning some local residents will have to pay for the construction of two bridges in the same location.

Furthermore, the legislature is attempting to change state law so that these tolls will never end. Current state law mandates that all tolls must end within 30 years.

[edit] Expansion of tolls to I-90, I-5, 522

With a toll on 520, epic traffic jams will be a daily occurance on the other bridge into Seattle, the I-90 bridge. To make things "fair", legislators have proposed adding tolls on I-90 as well. These tolls would not show up for a couple of years after the 520 tolls so that only a small portion of the population is angry during any given election.

The legistlature has also suggested adding a toll simply for entering the city center, regardless of whether a bridge is used. Tolls like this are in place in London, which charges roughly $20 to enter the city, and being experiment with in New York.

[edit] Undercapacity

The new bridge will not add any general use lanes, or a shoulder. The current bridge is often congested, and frequently a minor breakdown like a flat tire will delay thousands of drivers.

[edit] Squandered surpluses

The state has had billion-dollar surpluses for the past three years; rather than spend these funds on the bridge or repair other crumbling infrastructure, the governor and legislature squandered it on pet projects and raises for public employees. The supluses would have been enough to cover the cost of replacing the bridge.

Now, the legislature is attempting to take additional funds and place them in a "rainy day fund" to use at some indefinite point in the future. 520 drivers consider the bridge to be a better use of the money.

[edit] Wasteful frills

While the governor claims the bridge needs to be replaced for safety reasons, analysis of the costs show that only about 10% of the multi-billion-dollar cost will go towards replacement costs. The rest of the funds will go towards unnecessary design frills, the western half of the bridge will be a costly suspension bridge, public relations, high-priced consultants, and improvements to the roads in the exclusive Montlake neighborhood and an extra bridge connecting to the University of Washington. While these extras would all be nice, drivers feel it is dishonest of the state to claim that safety is the reason for these frills.

[edit] Slow timeline

The legislature wants to begin charging tolls in 2008, but the new bridge is not scheduled for completion until 2018. Drivers would be forced to pay thousands of dollars for a bridge they might never use, and, in the meantime drive across a dangerous structure. Typically tolls are only charges once a structure is completed.