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Noting there is always a silver lining, retiring Sen. Bob Oke, R-Port Orchard, said that as troubling as the delay in the opening of the new Narrows Bridge may be, it will save bridge users $1 million, maybe more. Oke is referring to his bill that was signed into law this year that puts proceeds from any fines paid by contractors for delays into the toll account to help pay for the bridge. The measure, Senate Bill 6674, also requires any proceeds from surplus land sold to be used to pay off the bridge.
Without this bill, the proceeds from fines and surplus land sales would have gone into the state Motor Vehicle Account, a fund that pays for highway projects and costs to operate the state departments of Transportation and Licensing, and the Washington State Patrol.
“I’ve been following the news stories on the delay and I understand that the delay, the problem with the cable wire and the lawsuit involving the steel deck are themselves newsworthy, but for the folks who use the bridge, it’s the savings that is important,” Oke said.
The entire bridge project, the opening of the new bridge and the retrofitting of the current bridge, is scheduled to be completed by Feb. 26, 2008. Any delays in that deadline will also result in fines for the Tacoma Narrows Constructors (TNC).
“It’s a massive project,” Oke said. “No one should be surprised by a few snags, but overall TNC is doing a fine job and I have every expectation that we will be crossing the new bridge in July 2007 and both bridges by the end of February 2008.”. |
