The Desert Dispatch reports that San Bernardino County in California is seeking a federal grant to restore old bridges on the National Old Trails Road — an early alignment of Route 66.
The county applied for a $52 million stimulus grant to replace 130 bridges that were built between 1929 and 1931 on the old highway between Daggett and Needles. The bridges would be replaced by wooden kits that are designed to look similar to the original.
The kits the county expects to use for to replace these bridges are approved by the California Department of Transportation, are easy to put together and are historically accurate.
“The attraction of Route 66 is its history,” he said. “You don’t want it to look like any other roadway.”
The county should know by September whether it will receive the grant.
Bridges tend to wear out eventually. San Bernardino County’s quest to replace the bridges with ones that look like the original should be commended — and imitated in other Route 66 states.
It’s amazing the differences within a state. Caltrans – the state transportation agency, spent unknown dollars developing a process of reverse ionization to protect the coastal bridges from decay due to salt water from the Pacific Ocean. They then turned around, allowed that process to be GIVEN away to Oregon and Washington, and instead turned to the systematic replacement and destruction of their own coastal bridges.
Caltrans also outwardly neglected local calls for preservation of the Arroyo Seco Parkway’s tunnels and added non-period lighting. They are in the process of destroying ORIGINAL curbing on the Parkway to “correct” safety issues which can safely be addressed with period-appearing replacements.
Clearly, the state transportation agency in California has absolutely no idea how to mix preservation and safety. In the meantime, the County of San Bernardino has taken control of the National Trails Road in the Mojave Desert and has been slowly improving the highway while retaining its historic nature and appearance. With California’s current economic situation, a huge round of applause goes out to SB County for their efforts. And a huge “thumbs down” to the State for neglecting its historic resources.
$52 million to replace bridges on a road that’s been abandoned for decades.
While money for food stamps, job training and unemployment benefits is nowhere to be found, and we are burdening our children and our grandchildren with trillions in debts.
In a state that is practically bankrupt.
What a perfect example of what is wrong with California.
Several notes, Earnan:
— This road is not abandoned. It’s still used by local traffic and tourists.
— The trillions in debt are due to several administrations, including a large number of Republicans.
— Congress did extend jobless benefits to 99 weeks. And the bridge replacements, like other infrastructure work, will create jobs.
— Whether California is bankrupt or not is irrelevant to this issue. It is applying for a federal grant to do the work, not state money.
Several notes, Ron:
– It’s about spending money wisely. If this is a lightly traveled road ( I have not been on this road), it would not seem wise to make this investment at this time.
– I saw no mention of any particlaur politcal figure in Earnan’s comment. For you to deflect blame to one political party is revealing something about you to your readers. I am sure you understand that many Rt 66 travelers or enthusiast are politically conservative.
– Like many federal make-work programs, I doubt this would create jobs that are worth the money spent on the project. Contractors would likely do the work with crews and equipment that they have now, rather than bring on more full time employees. But I don’t know for sure since I am not in that business.
– Even though California may not have to come up with much or any of the funds, federal money is still OUR MONEY.
– I love historical sites and such, but now is not the time for this allocation of tax payers money.
I disagree that it’s money not spent wisely. Mr. Piotrowski, who is among the most knowledgeable of Route 66ers in California, noted that the road is a crucial link to several towns and a nearby military base.
And during times when the nation’s money supply is poor, anything to shore up long-neglected infrastructure and retain or add jobs is a good thing.
Earnan did not mention a political figure, but he did mention national deficits, which are indeed a political issue. And I said the deficit problem has persisted among several administrations of both parties, including Republicans, who talk a lot about deficits but have a poor record in actually combating them. That is indisputable. Just because that fact is unpopular with some people doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be noted.
And I wholeheartedly disagree that “now is not the time” to spend the money. Indeed, bad economic times is an ideal time to spend federal money to help soften the recession. If you want to cut federal spending, the time to do it is during good economic times, when such spending isn’t nearly as necessary. This is Keynesian economics; this is Economics 101.
Further to what Ron states below Earnan, I will add that infrastructure improvements are every bit as important and necessary as are social programs. In some cases, more so.
If you have not traveled through this stretch of 66, you cannot know the importance of the highway. It is used to connect 29 Palms to points north such as Las Vegas, Barstow, and Needles, and therefore points east as well. This is relevant for military uses as well as personal and commercial traffic. It may not be traveled as frequently as I-40, but it certainly is the only route between 29 Palms and Amboy / Fenner / I-40.
I would argue that if you really want to be concerned about governmental spending, perhaps it would be better to look at programs of excess, such as the existence of a High Speed Rail Commission for over 10 years that did virtually nothing and still had their bond measure extended recently. (And I AM in FAVOR of HSR in California, mind you!)
Ron
Hmmm ……spending money we don’t have …. during a stalled “recovery” …. Its not a Democrat or Republican deficit, its an American deficit.
This makes no sense since it did not work very well during the Great Depression. (WWII did more to end the depression than the New Deal spending programs)
A critical route from 29 Palms to points north? Ok, maybe it is, but if it is that critical I would think that the route would have already been improved, and certainly not with wooden bridge kits. I’ve never seen a wood bridge used on a “critical” hwy or route.
In November, we will find out what direction on federal spending the American people want to take. I suspect it will not be the Progressive approach we have now.
I want 66 to be preserved and used as much as you do, but we have to be more practical and make harder choices now. Please take my words as a friendly disagreement. I really enjoy your site and appreciate the time and effort you put forth.
I refute the notion that the spending during the New Deal wasn’t effective. Unemployment dropped from 35 percent to the mid-teens. Dropping the jobless rate by more than half is impressive by any standard. Doing nothing would have been catastrophic for this country.
In fact, cutting job-creation spending during the late 1930s actually caused another big spike in the jobless rate; it wasn’t because of the failure of FDR’s programs.
As for the wooden bridges, the report clearly said they will meet California Department of Transportation standards. Even a wooden bridge will handle traffic easily if it’s well-designed enough.