By Gary J. Groman, a.k.a. The Ole Seagull
The seconds, minutes, days, weeks, and months available to avoid the shutdown of the Lake Taneycomo Bridge for about a year are sifting through the hourglass. If it were an egg being timed the last second dropping into the bottom of the hourglass would indicate that the egg was done. With the timing of the closing of the bridge, the last second dropping through means that the Branson community lives with the results of what its efforts have accomplished as that last second hits the bottom of the hourglass.
The good news, the really good news, is that the time passing through the hour glass while the “steering committee,” those who had the political clout to tie the community’s need for a solution to the bridge problem to their own desire for a tax for other purposes, was not wasted. While the steering committee gambled away the initial opportunity for a retail sales tax that could have been used to help solve the bridge problems, others were working to develop potential solutions for the problems including resource dependent alternatives to closing the bridge.
For the most part, those potential solutions and alternatives were, and are, being developed by a Value Engineering Study currently being conducted by the Missouri Department of Transportation [MoDOT] in conjunction with local officials. The study team initially met on Sep. 10 and is in the process of releasing its final recommendations.
Those with the political clout to get their agenda on the ballot had their steering committee. As the seconds continue to drop through the hour glass how about a “steering committee,” for the rest of us, one that has the professionalism and ability to steer the community in the right direction in a timely and efficient manner. That committee would be made up of Taney County Road and Bridge Administrator, Frank Preston, Branson City Engineer, David Miller, or his representative, Hollister City Administrator, Rick Ziegenfuss, and MoDOT’s District 8 Transportation Project Manager, Chad E. Zickefoose. Ziegenfuss, although not an engineer, represented the area as a member of the Value Engineering Study and adds a tempering dimension.
The committees charge would be simple, “Get-R-Done.” The end result would be a list, without regard to cost, containing, in order of preference, no more than three of the most practical, efficient, and value based solutions to the problems posed by the bridge. The decisions involving the list would be based on their professional experience and knowledge, all of the information currently available, including the results of the MoDOT Value Engineering Study, and the assumption that without a decision the bridge will be closed by the end of 2008 for MoDOT to implement their solution.
The committee would have until no later than Jan. 7 to develop the list and present it, along with appropriate staff studies, documentation, etc. to their respective elected leaders for consideration. During that period and until Jan. 23, 2008, each of the elective bodies would hold a public hearing on the list and the three options. On Jan. 23, 2008, at a joint meeting of the Taney County Commission, Branson Board of Aldermen, and the Hollister Board of Aldermen, one option would be selected.
The community could then focus its efforts into turning that option into a reality which, if history is any judge, will be achieved. One thing is certain however, the seconds, minutes, days, weeks, and months continue to sift through the hourglass. The community is either going to “Get-R-Done” before that last second sifts through or MoDOT is going to close the bridge and “Get-R-Done,” as best as they can.
Related links:
Taneycomo bridge problems could cause Fall 2008 closure (News)
Cost of alternatives to Branson’s Taneycomo bridge closing range from $13 to 36.8 million (News)
Business 65 Taneycomo Bridge safe but functionally obsolete and structurally deficient (News)
MoDOT study to determine if, and how long, Branson’s Taneycomo Bridge will be closed (News)
Is there Highroad "Deja vu" involved with the closing of Branson’s Taneycomo Bridge?" (Column)
