Ross Hall Wrote:
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> The thing the railroads always seem to do. They
> know the project is needed no matter what, so
> instead of taking advantage of a downturn in
> traffic to finish the job (and before the
> enviromental permits expire), they will wait until
> the traffic is over capacity and then
> have to delay all kinds of trains to get it done
> (pissing off customers). This project also
> includes rebuilding the old bridge once the new
> one is in. I believe the Lake Pend Oreille bridge
> project was actually delayed on restart because
> some of the permits had expired.
BINGO!! Ross, you are spot on! UP is doing the same thing at Clinton Iowa with the 1911 turntable Bridge replacement. They put it on hold indefinitely when "Precision Scheduled Railroading" took effect. They have said when traffic picks up or the turntable span starts breaking down right and left, and/or costs them too much money, then they'll put in the new High Bridge that was supposed to replace it. Yes, when traffic picks up, they'll cause more delays than ever to put in the new one. Now is the time to do it, but short term, the Stockholders get more by not doing it!