Senator Ted Stevens (R Alaska) vehemently claimed that after 37 years in the Senate he would resign and "be taken out of here on a stretcher" if the Senate killed funding for two Alaskan bridges.
The so called Bridges to Nowhere, $223 million in federal funds – will connect Gravina Island (pop. 50 people) to Ketchikan(pop. 14,000 and dropping). Another dog..er pig is the Knik Arm Bridge, which is set to receive $231 million, and would destroy a historic Anchorage neighborhood to connect with an area so remote it boasts only three dirt lanes.
The bridges are perhaps the most egregious of approximately $1 billion worth of special earmark funding set aside for Alaska in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act. The pork they represent could buy a whole lot of Hurricane relief.
Frankly I think it's high time the Senator did exit on a stretcher and save us the cost of two unnecessary bridges to nowhere.
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