The Sarah Palin Memorial Road to Nowhere now open

By: Rob
Published On: 9/21/2008 12:32:14 AM

As Barack Obama's been saying these days, "you can't make this stuff up!"  

Alaska now has a Road to Nowhere [pictured] going to what would have been the Bridge to Nowhere.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's transportation department has completed a $25 million gravel road leading to the site of a bridge that Palin, as John McCain's vice presidential candidate, now boasts that she stopped, so as to save taxpayers money. The road was built with federal tax dollars.

Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein said the 3.2-mile road will be useful for road races, hunters and possibly future development. But with no bridge to serve it, that's probably about it.

If you read the whole article, you'll learn that Palin took the money from the Bridge to Nowhere (which actually did connect two places together) and spent it on a Road to Nowhere (which does not connect two places together).

What an anti-earmark champion!  Instead of just a wasteful project, she spent the money on a wasteful and completely useless project!  Just think what she'll be able to accomplish in the White House for all of us.

Comments



$25 million for 3.2 miles??? (Dan - 9/21/2008 11:46:55 AM)
A 3.2 mile gravel road should not cost that much money, even in Alaska.  The highest figures I have ever heard in Alaska are $7 million a mile, but only with a river crossing, and only as an absolute worst case estimate.  The estimates I've seen are usually between $700,000 and $6 million per mile depending on topography.  Now, often in Alaska, gravel resources are limited.  That means gravel may have to be shipped in for the road.  However, unless the road has significant topographic challenges, generally a road like this would cost no more than $1 to $3 million per mile.  It would be interesting to see why it cost so much.  Was it inflated?  They should have had at least $15 million left over to hire lobbyists to get more earmarks for useless projects.