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Pick up trucks were more relevant to the conversation than I first thought.
In seriousness I wonder how this will affect the price of cars and trucks and if certain types of vehicles will be more affected than others. I also wonder what other specific goods might be uniquely disrupted by this. The article mentions lithium batteries so I wonder if that will affect the EV market.
Losing the bridge seems like it'll be an extreme annoyance and giant headache to daily traffic.... Like if Houston lost the Beltway 8 Bridge and traffic had to be rerouted to the 610 and Fred Hartman bridges...
45-60 minutes commutes would turning into 75-90 daily commutes... or longer, lots longer.
Once the bridge is removed... Don't see much impact to shipping. The bridge removal time will be minimal compared to rebuilding it.
I seriously feel for the people who used that bridge on their daily drives. Losing the I-10 bridge here from a barge impact for a few months seriously fucking up traffic bad.
This is going to take years... I'm guessing 1-2 years mininum to design and put out for bid, then another 5-8 years building it. Depending on how much money they want to spend.
The saying in Construction is... You have three choices in how to build a project - Cheap, Fast and Quality. You get to pick two.
If they want Fast & High Quality... open the checkbook. But this is a case where Federal money should definitely be used... and lots of it. Just get it fucking done.
If there was ever an optimum chance for a Biden win... would be to step in and fast track this project with money and expedite a bid BEFORE the election. Put the Army Corps of Engineers in tandem with the Maryland Department of Transportation
Shred all the fucking Red Tape that bogs down these huge Federal Projects... Just plow through them. Fuck the environmentalists and their demands for multiple studies (happens every time). Issue a State of Emergency or an EO... or whatever. Have enough money to demand the winning contractor will need a three shift rotation to go 24/7. Put contract demands that steel fabricators must promise to prioritize the project over existing projects, offering hefty bonuses for meeting early completion deadlines.
There's ways to do it... it's just expensive. But I've seen it done locally on a massive Water Plant I was involved that was a fast tracked through the Design Build process. They paid a premium, but it was done much faster than I've ever seen on a Plant that size.. the largest in the US I believe.
If Biden could take some credit in getting that done... Fucking Hero