Stage for Vice-President Joe Biden
[Update: This event is now scheduled to be at 2:45 PM today.]
Overland Park. KMBC Channel 9 reported planning was under way for Vice-President Joe Biden’s visit to Overland Park tomorrow for the groundbreaking for a new “stimulus” project along U.S. 69. Reporter Mike Mahoney did a live shot from 103rd and U.S. 69 during the 6 PM news tonight.
Channel 9 reports that former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, now HHS secretary, and Gov. Mark Parkinson will be attending, as well as other officials. Their report failed to mention what the public should do to attend.
View of Stage from west side of U.S. 69
After investigating the site on the southeast corner of 103rd Street and U.S. Highway 69 (see map below), which is next to the National American University facility, I think space may be a bit limited near the stage tomorrow. Assuming 103rd Street and U.S. 69 are both closed, there may be plenty of room in the street, however. How crowds will be controlled remains to be seen.
Work began on the earlier “Focus 435″ project in 2004. The 15 houses near I-435 worth $2.6 million, which were destroyed via eminent domain, have been long forgotten.
U.S. 69 Work Area
A new flyover from south-bound U.S. 69 to east-bound I-435 was finally completed in late 2008 (shown on the right side at the picture at the left).
Many in the area were happy that things were getting back to normal, but KDOT was looking for funds to complete a wider U.S. 69. This “shovel ready” U.S. 69 project was ready to go, except for funding.
Through the “miracle” of stimulus money from President Barack Obama and Congress, the U.S. 69 project is now pushing forward. Concrete barriers have been placed along U.S. 69 in the last few days for work to begin (see above).
According to a recent press release from the Kansas Department of Transportation:
A contract was awarded this week to Clarkson Construction Co., Kansas City, to improve U.S. 69 in Overland Park from I-35 to 103rd Street. The $82.3 million project will address congestion issues by reconstructing the interchange at 95th Street and U.S. 69 and enhancing the corridor’s capacity.
Mike Mahoney from Channel 9 said the project would actually make improvements from 75th street south to I-435.
Old Aerial View -- New "Flyover" to I-435 not shown (from Google Maps). Arrow shows location of stage tomorrow.
I am not against this project — a wider entrance ramp for south-bound traffic entering U.S. 69 may remove a dangerous situation with the new extremely short merge lane. But paying for this in advance, instead of using debt to pay for it, would have been better.
I think we should all remember what this “stimulus” and the American Recovery Act did.
Earlier this year Congress authorized a huge amount of “stimulus” money to spend to “help” the economy. Mike Mahoney reports this U.S. 69 project will provide about 500 jobs. But for how long? By 2012 when the project ends, those jobs end. No new permanent jobs were created with this project.
The money to pay for this project is not free. Effectively, the stimulus was an “emergency tax.” This project costing $82.3 million should be shared by the 2.8 million Kansans. So, each citizen of the state needs to pay about $29.39. Oh, we’ll pay for that later. Or, the U.S. government will just print more money to pay for the project — that would contribute to higher inflation, which is also not good.
We’ve got to learn to live within our means. It’s simply not fair to tell our Kansas kids that they now need to pay $29.39 for these U.S. 69 improvements, plus interest, of course.
Our current economic condition is more dire than many understand. Actions by the federal government are likely to make the problem worse, especially for future generations.
Why should anyone feel good after tomorrow’s event?
Related:
- Kan. senator knocks stimulus on eve of VP visit, AP, June 10, 2009.
- Kansas’ Tiahrt demands repeal of Obama’s stimulus plan, Kansas City Star, June 10, 2009.
Tags: Debt-Stimulus, Joe Biden, Kathleen Sebelius
