Traffic Lunacy

In Edmonton there are a number of massive, I mean really massive road work projects underway, these have been going on for years now it seems. When i travel into Edmonton I have to pass the junction of highway 16(Yellow head) and highway 43 which some consider to be the lowest end of the Alaska Highway, there is a single bridge on highway 16 which is a divided highway over the end of the highway 43. There are lots of big trucks and all sorts of other travellers over this intersection and I have never seen an accident there in over 40 years of passing over this bridge never mind and sort of traffic congestion or traffic jam.

Then we come to the diabolical mess that is being perpetrated on the citizens of Edmonton at the junction of the same highway 16 and the still being constructed "The Henday" This engineering "wet dream" seems to fulfil all the criteria of "milking the system" for all the money that we can possibly make. One of those "shovel ready" projects literally. The sheer volume of dirt moved would probably equal that of a small mountain, maybe a couple of great pyramids, A few thousand tons of steel for the,Ive lost count of the number of under and over bridges in this intersection, and the thousands of tons of concrete and reinforcing steel. All so that a few drivers can turn the corner or not fast. In my opinion a colossal waste of money. Ah but it employed a lot of people you say, well i can think of a few better ways of employing a lot of people,
1) How about building some greenhouses on the reclaimed land that uses the waste heat from the power generating stations at Genesee, then the citizens of Edmonton can get fresh garden vegetables year round from less than 50 miles away, instead of via the airport or the highway trucks coming up all the way from California or similar distant lands. I have a feeling that it would be a lot less expensive.

2)How about a few low footbridges over the river in the downtown area and on out to to the zoo, surely we have the technology to build some beautifully engineered suspension bridges over the river, after all the capture wires used on the Canada Arm were made right here at the International Airport in Spar Aerospace. I have a feeling that they would cost a lot less as well.

Oh but the bridges do not include the "Almighty Automobile" what a pity, then what is the point if it is only for people walking or riding bicycles or pushing baby carriages.

As the world moves closer to a serious decline in the oil production These massive traffic projects will be seen as more and more huge white elephants, and people will wonder why nobody was thinking about the real future and not the fantasy one that seems to be captivating the politicians minds.