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Memorial Bridge

Started by davewiecking, April 12, 2016, 08:46:19 PM

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davewiecking

National Park Service likely to miss critical deadline for Memorial Bridge funds

I could swear there was a thread for this bridge, but I guess I'm just remembering things from the DC and US240 threads. Apparently the USPS doesn't quite have its act together, and while VA might be willing to help (remember that this bridge isn't in Virginia), expecting the VA Legislature to act in less than 48 hours isn't going to happen.

Quote
With a deadline approaching this week to apply for millions in federal funding to fix the decaying Memorial Bridge, a powerful group of congressional representatives on Tuesday sounded an alarm that the National Park Service risked blowing the crucial opportunity.

In a letter to National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis, members of the Virginia and D.C. congressional delegations said they were writing to "urge in the strongest possible terms"  that the Park Service "complete a strong application"  by the Thursday night deadline.

But barring a last-minute change, it appears that the Park Service will not make it in time because it failed to seek needed state sponsorship early enough.

The grant could make a major dent in a quarter-billion-dollar bridge project the Park Service says it can't afford on its own. The grant requires a state-level co-sponsor to join the application, but D.C. and Virginia officials said the Park Service did not reach out to ask them to play that role until last week.


Rothman

#1
Quote from: davewiecking on April 12, 2016, 08:46:19 PM
Apparently the USPS doesn't quite have its act together,

The Postal Service? :D

Actually, the NPS might be savvier than you think.  Transportation-related federal grants are notoriously inadequate for large projects.  You have a $250m project and a grant gets you $25m or some other relative pittance (more frequently, some schmoe of a congressperson gets you a $2m earmark and wonders why the project never got off the ground).  Someone's still got to pony up the rest of that money, so there's no reason to apply for a grant that will sit around and lapse anyway due to lack of funds.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: Rothman on April 13, 2016, 09:02:50 AM
Actually, the NPS might be savvier than you think.  Transportation-related federal grants are notoriously inadequate for large projects.  You have a $250m project and a grant gets you $25m or some other relative pittance (more frequently, some schmoe of a congressperson gets you a $2m earmark and wonders why the project never got off the ground).  Someone's still got to pony up the rest of that money, so there's no reason to apply for a grant that will sit around and lapse anyway due to lack of funds.

The Arlington Memorial Bridge, contrary to what many people beyond the reach of this forum believe, does not reach Virginia.  It is entirely in D.C. (though it obviously serves many Virginia drivers, and it used to serve many buses based in  Virginia, but not since the bridge was posted with a 10 ton weight limit). 

Because it is entirely in D.C., it may be difficult to get a bill through Congress to fund the repair of the bridge (though it is obviously a federal project, and the bridge has always been owned by the federal government) - since D.C. has no voting representation in Congress.

IMO, this would be appropriately handled by a separate bill and funded by a special ["pork barrel"] appropriation. 

If I had my way, the entire federal NPS parkway system in the D.C. area would be tolled, and the revenue collected from those tolls would first go to maintaining and improving the parkways and related infrastructure. 
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

wdcrft63

It's crazy to have all this critical highway infrastructure in the DC area maintained by the National Park Service in competition with national park highways across the country. There should be some separate budgeting arrangement for these bridges and highways, maybe under FHWA.

davewiecking

The twice daily dance by the NPS ( :banghead: ) police to put up barricades to control rush hour one-way traffic on numerous area Parkways is very similar to, um, clearing trees off foot paths in Yosemite...

Rothman

Quote from: wdcrft63 on April 13, 2016, 06:36:33 PM
It's crazy to have all this critical highway infrastructure in the DC area maintained by the National Park Service in competition with national park highways across the country. There should be some separate budgeting arrangement for these bridges and highways, maybe under FHWA.

I'm betting that there's now jurisdictional opposition to any transfer from NPS.  FHWA doles out reimbursements to the states and other entities; they simply do not manage contractors and do not currently have the trained staff to do so.  DDOT probably doesn't want to take over all that work, even if federal-aid eligible.

NPS got stuck with it; NPS is going to be stuck with it.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: wdcrft63 on April 13, 2016, 06:36:33 PM
It's crazy to have all this critical highway infrastructure in the DC area maintained by the National Park Service in competition with national park highways across the country. There should be some separate budgeting arrangement for these bridges and highways, maybe under FHWA.

The users of the parkways (including me) should pay  for their maintenance, upkeep and operation. 
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cpzilliacus

WTOP Radio: NPS offers Memorial drawbridge redesign options

QuoteThe National Park Service offered a first glimpse of the various plans to rehabilitate the Arlington Memorial Bridge Thursday.

QuoteThe repair plans will maintain the multiple-arch design and look of the bridge but call to eliminate or refurbish the defunct drawbridge that sits midspan.

QuoteFour design options for the superstructure beneath the drawspan section of the Memorial Bridge were presented during the National Capital Planning Commission's regular meeting.

QuoteThe meeting comes one year after an emergency load restriction for buses was put into effect across the 84-year-old bridge. The park service says that if the structure isn't rehabilitated soon, it could be closed by 2021.

QuoteThe proposals vary greatly in how to rehab the drawspan, which is severely corroded and was decommissioned in the 1960s. Options would replace the drawspan with concrete beams, variable depth girders. or fixed steel trusses. Another option would refurbish the existing steel components of the drawspan.

Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cpzilliacus

WTOP Radio: Memorial Bridge could close by 2021, local leaders warn

QuoteThe Memorial Bridge is one of the most historic, gorgeous, and well-traveled bridges linking Virginia to D.C., but it could shut down by 2021 if it doesn't get a major safety overhaul, according to Virginia's senators and the mayor of D.C.

Quote"We just had a sobering tour of America's most iconic bridge,"  said Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA, standing with Sen. Tim Kaine, D-VA, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, on the Virginia side of the bridge, which carries traffic from Arlington Cemetery to the Lincoln Memorial.

Quote"This bridge is evaluated as the most vulnerable bridge in the whole federal system,"  said Warner, who explained the 84-year-old bridge was built with a life expectancy of 75 years.

QuoteThe leaders described dangerous rusting and flaking of concrete below the asphalt bridge deck.

QuoteThe Memorial Bridge carries 68,000 vehicles daily, Kaine said.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

cpzilliacus

Washington Post: Effort to fix aging Arlington Memorial Bridge receives a $227 million boost

QuoteIn a rare bit of good news for the Washington region's aging transportation infrastructure, the National Park Service announced Friday that it had approved a $227 million project to repair and rehabilitate Arlington Memorial Bridge, a major commuter artery traveled by 68,000 vehicles a day.

QuoteInterior Secretary Ryan Zinke and members of the District and Virginia congressional delegation said in a news release that the contract caps a years-long fight to secure funding to repair the aging bridge, which was determined to be so "structurally deficient"  that in 2015 officials barred large vehicles, trucks and buses from using it.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

Beltway

#10
Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 01, 2017, 09:44:21 PM
Quote from: Washington comPostIn a rare bit of good news for the Washington region's aging transportation infrastructure, the National Park Service announced Friday that it had approved a $227 million project to repair and rehabilitate Arlington Memorial Bridge, a major commuter artery traveled by 68,000 vehicles a day.

Wow.  A needed project to keep a 6-lane Potomac River bridge in operation, but fantastically expensive.
http://www.roadstothefuture.com
http://www.capital-beltway.com

Baloney is a reserved word on the Internet
    (Robert Coté, 2002)

cpzilliacus

Quote from: Beltway on December 02, 2017, 11:42:23 PM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 01, 2017, 09:44:21 PM
Quote from: Washington comPostIn a rare bit of good news for the Washington region's aging transportation infrastructure, the National Park Service announced Friday that it had approved a $227 million project to repair and rehabilitate Arlington Memorial Bridge, a major commuter artery traveled by 68,000 vehicles a day.

Wow.  A needed project to keep a 6-lane Potomac River bridge in operation, but fantastically expensive.

I strongly disagree.  The Arlington Memorial Bridge has had almost no maintenance work performed since it was opened to traffic in 1932, except for snow and ice removal.

That's about 85 years ago. 

The current-day price to repair and rehabilitate the bridge (apparently including removal of the draw span) works to about $2.65 million for every year it has been in service.  Even though the bridge is legally part of the NPS Parkway system, it has long carried transit and tourist buses similar in gross vehicle weight to the trucks that not usually allowed on the structure, so it has taken a beating for most of those years (a few years ago, all vehicles weighing more than 10 tons were banned from crossing the bridge).
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

Beltway

Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 03, 2017, 12:52:02 AM
Quote from: Beltway on December 02, 2017, 11:42:23 PM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 01, 2017, 09:44:21 PM
Quote from: Washington comPostIn a rare bit of good news for the Washington region's aging transportation infrastructure, the National Park Service announced Friday that it had approved a $227 million project to repair and rehabilitate Arlington Memorial Bridge, a major commuter artery traveled by 68,000 vehicles a day.
Wow.  A needed project to keep a 6-lane Potomac River bridge in operation, but fantastically expensive.
I strongly disagree.  The Arlington Memorial Bridge has had almost no maintenance work performed since it was opened to traffic in 1932, except for snow and ice removal.
That's about 85 years ago. 
The current-day price to repair and rehabilitate the bridge (apparently including removal of the draw span) works to about $2.65 million for every year it has been in service.  Even though the bridge is legally part of the NPS Parkway system, it has long carried transit and tourist buses similar in gross vehicle weight to the trucks that not usually allowed on the structure, so it has taken a beating for most of those years (a few years ago, all vehicles weighing more than 10 tons were banned from crossing the bridge).

That is an interesting way of looking at the costs, but still, $227 million to rehab a bridge about 2,100 feet long is a LOT of money, any way you slice it.
http://www.roadstothefuture.com
http://www.capital-beltway.com

Baloney is a reserved word on the Internet
    (Robert Coté, 2002)

Rothman

NYC rolls its eyes at you. 
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

1995hoo

Adam Tuss reports the National Park Service plans some changes to Memorial Circle to try to reduce the number of collisions. I think bypass lanes might be a better solution, but to the extent those would allow higher speeds they'd cause problems at the crossswalks.

https://twitter.com/adamtuss/status/1141109168218263554?s=21
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

cpzilliacus

Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.



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