On the astounding fiscal profligacy of government

Bridge to nowhere

This post is off topic and maybe there will be more of my posts like this. There are literally millions of writers better than I, but in an effort to improve myself, however modest, I will endeavor to continue writing.

The Box Elder News Journal had two front page stories yesterday; the Forest Street railroad overpass and increased demand at the local food pantry. How are these related? I’ll get to my thesis in just a moment.

First, some background. Ten years ago, I was on the city council. The public’s incessant whining about Forest Street traffic delays caused by the Union Pacific Railroad (UPR) spurred the council to do a cost and feasibility study for an overpass. This was after the city closed the 4th North Street railroad crossing to allow the UPR greater switching flexibility without blocking Forest Street. However, the traffic blockages seemed to get worse and the UPR was intransigent and arrogant.

Additionally, city and emergency personnel voiced concerns that ambulance, police, and fire vehicles would experience response delays (up to minutes) when the UPR was blocking Forest Street, and a detour would have to be used. (The police and fire stations are east of the north/south aligned tracks.)

There are 2 main detour routes around Forest Street RR crossing: 400 South RR crossing by the high school, and 600 North RR crossing. Some side streets, parallel to the tracks allow access to these crossings. There are also two highway access routes from I-15 into Brigham at the north and south ends of the city, which prudent folks use for destinations other than city center. (Forest Street is the equator and Main Street is the prime meridian of the city.)

The study estimated the overpass would cost between $30 and $50 million. I said in council meeting, “I wouldn’t approve that overpass if a solid gold meteorite landed on city hall worth $30 million.”

Well, in the years after my departure from the council, our ever-rapacious state and county pols enacted a tax on the UPR, put the first tax monies in a fund and then borrowed against future tax revenue to come up with the $30+ million construction tab.

My point is this, the Forest Street UPR traffic blockage is annoying, but it is not $30+ million annoying. Also, any emergency response delay concerns (up to minutes for either of the two detours) were no more than a straw man, since the crossing and some side streets will now be closed for up to 2 years for overpass construction.

What’s this got to do with the second article? The construction cost divided by the 20,000 Brigham City residents comes out to $1,500 per man, woman, and child, while increasingly families can’t afford food. No, I’m not virtue signaling. The price tag just seems to me astronomical to eliminate an annoying, but occasional and short detour.

(Yes, I know the $30 million didn’t come directly from Brigham residents, but do you know what fungible means?)