The Bridge Collapse and the Navy

Maryland's DOT apparently does better at maintaining its bridges than the Navy.

This is the wreckage of the bridge, which shows no significant rusting:

Unlike the Navy.

One of the axioms about military equipment is that if the little things are taken care of, it's a reasonable assumption that the big things are also good. It's a matter of pride and professionalism.

A Real Mess in Balmer

A large container ship suffered a loss of power overnight and crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695), bringing it down.

Besides the loss of life and the screwing up of travel up and down the Eastern Seaboard, the bridge collapse also blocks the Port of Baltimore, a major East Coast port. There will be some serious supply chain issues until this sorts itself out. It'll probably take a goodly bit of time to remove the wreckage and clear the channel.

If your plans involve driving from the NYC metro area to points south, check on the traffic and think about possibly detouring to I-81 or going down US-13.

The Connecticut River; VT vs. NH

To gloss over a bunch of history, in the middle of the 18th Century, the border between the New York and New Hampshire colonies was fixed by royal decree at the west bank of the Connecticut River. Vermont declared its independence in 1777; when they wanted to join the Union in 1791,[1] Vermont was required to accept that border with New Hampshire.

In most places, borders run down the middle of bodies of water. But not in this case. Because of where this border runs, boats in marinas on both sides of the river have New Hampshire registrations. Vermonters who routinely put their boats into the Connecticut River register their boats in New Hampshire. NH fish cops patrol the river.

Fast-forward a couple of centuries. When it comes to the construction and maintenance of bridges over the Connecticut River, New Hampshire has to pay for most of it. They have to plow and sand most of the bridges' spans. That gets expensive, especially for bridges that may benefit Vermonters more than New Hampsters.

So, a while back, New Hampshire informally broached the subject with Vermont about maybe splitting the cost of bridge maintenance 50-50. The response from Vermont could be summed up as: "Hahahaha.. no."

A similar dispute once existed between Vermont and Massachusetts about where the border ran between Colrain, MA and Halifax, VT. There was about a fifty yard stretch of State Route 112 that was maintained by nobody. It wasn't plowed in the winter and the road became heavily potholed, to the point of impassability with cars. A survey was called for, but then they fought about who would do the survey and who had to pay for it. Finally, the voters on both sides knocked some sense into the politicians, the border was fixed and the road was, too.
____________________________
[1] Yes, Vermont was independent for fourteen years. Those pissy boys in Texas? Nine years.

Not Fun to Be in ATL Now

Traffic is going to be a four-starred bitch.

Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency Thursday night after fire officials extinguished a massive fire on I-85 in Atlanta that led to the collapse of a bridge on the crowded interstate.

National Train Day

Sure, it's a "Hallmark Holiday" for Amtrak. But it's still a good excuse to go surfing for some train videos.

Two C35s working to pull a freight in New South Wales:

Holland, an excursion run. The lead engine is the largest tank engine I've ever seen. It can't have much of a range.

Back in the States. Watch to the end, for it is amazing how much smoke was in that tunnel. The foamers in the open window cars had to be dying.

SSTs and LightSquared

LightSquared is likely to file bankruptcy. The CEO says it will be voluntary. I have little doubt that the creditors will press for a liquidation. Frankly, I feel that LightSquared can't go away fast enough. And they're not the first company to jump on a part of the EM spectrum, only to discover that they couldn't use it.

NASA thinks that it will soon be possible to make a small business jet that can operate supersonically over land.

NASA is claiming a breakthrough in the design of supersonic aircraft, with wind-tunnel tests proving it is possible to design configurations that combine low sonic boom with low cruise drag, characteristics once thought to be mutually exclusive.

As noted in the article, one of the issues is the size of the aircraft-- bigger airplanes have a louder sonic boom. So they may be able to do this with a bizjet. And they'll sell, just like the Citation X has sold.

Gov. Christie Gives a Big "Fuck You Guys" to Every New Jerseyan Who Commutes to NYC

Gov. Christie canceled the project to dig a new set of railroad tunnels under the Hudson.

He's got the balls to suggest that the Feds and the Port Authority spend the money for the projects on other transportation projects in New Jersey. I would respectfully suggest that the Feds and the PA tell him to go blow himself.