70 miles in 7 years

In January of 1863 some guy had the bright idea to build a railroad that spanned the entire length of the United States. Six years later the Transcontinental Railroad was finished. In a different January, this time in 1930, another guy had another idea to build a really big structure he would call the Empire State Building in downtown New York. And guess what! In just 464 days, it was done! Then some guy in San Francisco had an idea to build a bridge over a nearby bay and call it Golden Gate. And you guessed it- just a tick over four years later, the Golden Gate Bridge was completed.

Certainly no one can argue that mankind isn't capable of building truly remarkable things. These examples are proof that if something needed to be built to further the quality and ease of living through technology, the human race would build it. But I am sad to report that the glorious days of "plan then act" building have disappeared forever.

A few days ago a local paper article proudly displayed a new addition to the Trax light rail system that will extend the train to several different areas around the Salt Lake Valley. This addition is meant to reduce the hellish and consistent congestion on Utah's I-15 corridor. The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) even boasted their new slogan for the proposal, claiming a triumphant "70 miles in 7 years!"

70 miles in 7 years...? Pardon me UTA but how the hell does 70 miles of track take seven years to lay? The Transcontinental Railroad took six years to build. And the workers had none of the modern conveniences available to us now like gasoline engines, heavy duty construction equipment, and Power Bars. Instead a bunch of non-English speaking Chinese immigrants armed with hammers and....well just hammers completed a 1776 mile-long railroad (25 times longer than the proposed Trax line) in one year less than what UTA has allotted.

Yes, I know that you can't just up and build a railroad through a sprawling urban area overnight. Unlike 1863- where ever thing was flat and open and packed with Buffalo- 2009 is filled with city zone laws, property rights, legislation, hippies and all sorts of red tape. But it's the endless amounts of small problems like those that prevent desperately needed projects like Trax from being completed like they would have been in the past. Can't humanity find a way to streamline these type of projects with out everyone and their dog getting bum hurt and delaying a project that would benefit tens of thousands?

On a final note, I would like to point out that it isn't just Utah that suffers from what I like to call "politically correct construction." The most famous example would be New York's Freedom Tower (also know as 1 World Trade Center), which has been under construction for four years and has only has half of a foundation to show for it. Just naming it probably took 464 days. Our father's father's fathers would be proud...

-- Chad Waite, Daily Derbi

P.S. I actually really like San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. The people there are really nice too.