Subject:
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Re: Lego Maniac's Webring and Yahoo
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Tue, 19 Sep 2000 02:17:17 GMT
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Viewed:
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326 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Frank Filz writes:
> Just curious, how far off from completely paying for the bridge were the bonds
> and the $3.50 toll to pay them off?
Um, not sure I completely understand the questions. My memory is very hazy
here... I just went and checked a few sites:
http://www.michigantraveler.com/bridge.html
http://home.unicom.net/~sfreader/bridge.htm
http://www.aucmi.org/Resources/mackinac.html
http://www.mackinacbridge.org/ (this is the Bridge Authority site)
The bridge was built in the mid 1950s at a cost of ~70-100M in mid 50s
dollars. It connects the Upper and Lower peninsula of Michigan and replaced
car ferries. It is a car only bridge, there was talk of it being a railroad
bridge too but there wasn't sufficient traffic to justify it and no railroad
was willing to pay. During deer season you had to wait upwards of 2 days for a
crossing by car ferry or so it was said.
The bond issue was floated for I think 40 or 50 years and covered the whole
construction cost. (1) If there was a cost subsidy in place for construction,
it's been pretty well hidden, I think they really did pay for the whole cost
(well, except for the mole, which was built during the depression by the WPA
and cuts about a mile off the length of the bridge on the north side)
The toll was set at 3.50 (a very high toll in 50's dollars) to cover operating
expenses (remember those painters) and the bond payoff using traffic
projections. Bridge traffic was substantially higher than expected and some
time in the mid 70's the bonds were paid off, well ahead of schedule. So the
Bridge Authority lowered the toll. The BA is some sort of semi independent
body, probably governor appointed, that runs the bridge.
Mackinac (not Mackinaw!! silly me) Bridge trivia (the southern end is 35 miles
from where I grew up):
Designed by D.B. Steinman, the bridge architect who "fixed" Galloping Gertie
(after his original bid was rejected and he warned it would buck itself to
death) and who also did some other fairly famous bridges.
Longest single suspended span between anchor piers (Golden Gate is longer
between towers but has a much steeper pier-tower cable rise, and the TransBay
uses 4 towers and 3 piers) as of when it was built. It currently is eclipsed
by two other bridges, one of which is in Denmark (see, I knew I could make
this LEGO(r) related)
1 - from the MBA site:
"How much did it cost to build the Mackinac Bridge?
Answer:
Bonds ($99,800,000) for the project were issued in early 1954. The proceeds to
the Authority amounted to $96,400,033.33. The cost to design the project was
$3,500,000 (Steinman Company). The cost to construct the bridge was $70,
268,500. Two primary contractors were hired to build the bridge: American
Bridge for superstructure - $44,532,900; and Merritt-Chapman and Scott of New
York for the foundations - $25,735,600. The remainder of the proceeds from the
bond sale was used to service the bond debt both during and after
construction. Tolls could not be collected until the bridge was opened to
traffic on November 1, 1957. "
++Lar
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Message has 1 Reply:
Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Lego Maniac's Webring and Yahoo
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| (...) Just curious, how far off from completely paying for the bridge were the bonds and the $3.50 toll to pay them off? I don't see a problem with the government building roads and bridges if they use user fees to raise the money to build them, and (...) (24 years ago, 19-Sep-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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