My mother's been gone for over a decade. My wife's mother has been gone longer. Still, there is a reason to think about our mothers today. They raised us, regardless of all our efforts to ignore their teachings, refuse to accept their wisdom, and not realizing the number of visits are numbered. They put up with our ignorance, loved us despite our faults, and sacrificed more than we'll ever know. Today, we can only miss them, and the things they taught.
I don't know anything about the new Pope, except he's from the United States. So is Pelosi, Schumer, AOC, all the Bidens and the list goes on. What he does is how I'll develop my opinion of the lead politician of the Catholics. Maybe he'll do something good, but history shows he may not.
From what I've been reading, after today, certain forms of identification are required for domestic flights. Media outlets are reporting the outrage of this requirement every chance they get, and many are irritated they have now have to have this identification, but the law was passed twenty years ago, and there has been plenty of time.
Right after the attacks in 2001, most industrial facilities required a Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC). At the beginning, a driver license was an acceptable form of identification for the card. After 2005, to have it renewed, an original, or certified copy, of a birth certificate was required for most people. There were other acceptable ID's, but I don't remember what they were. Without the card, I was forbidden to enter any dock, which included every petrochemical facility where I worked, even though I'd worked in most for years. Even the guards recognized me, but would turn me away if I didn't have the card, which required over a hundred dollars of my money every few years to update, and my fingerprints.
So, here we are. They're cracking down on those that probably are not dangerous, but it is what it is. I have some sympathy for those that have to jump through hoops to obtain the correct paperwork for their identification, but not much. There was no hoopla when I had to jump through hoops to keep working, and dealing with a bureaucracy to get a certified copy of my birth certificate took more time than I wished to give.
I wrote about this bridge a few weeks ago. Since then, the contractor has removed the approaches, including the fill for the approach headers. This weekend, if the weather didn't shut down the contractor, the interstate will be detoured to the service roads and the spans over the highway removed. It's something I would like to watch, but I have a feeling even trying to get close will be a lesson in futility.
I have a feeling the contractor will work, regardless of the weather. Demolition of this type will not be hampered by bad soil conditions, and if the contractor planned accordingly, the remainder of the bridge has a hard surfaced place to be stored. It can all be done if it's raining, and considering the scope of the work, backing out is really not an option.
So, how would I perform this job? It's a simple task, and easily performed with the right equipment. The concrete between the girders is broken quickly with large breakers on tracked excavators that work their way back to the approaches. The reinforcement is cut as the machines break the concrete, and the rubble is loaded into dump trucks by front end loaders. After the material is hauled away, large mobile cranes can lift the girders and load them on extendable haul trailers. The girders are then delivered to another crane at the disposal area. The columns, and caps, can be broken with the same large excavators, and the rubble cleaned after they're removed.
The hardest part of the work is logistics. Traffic control devices need to be at locations long before the work begins, and staged for quick placement. There is only a window from 8:00 pm Friday to 5:00 am Monday. When the okay is given, all side streets are closed, channelizing devices remove traffic from the interstate, and the work begins. Those in traffic on the interstate will face long delays due to the detours.
The equipment has to be on hand, with spares available at a moments notice. This includes all heavy equipment, cranes, dump trucks, haul trucks, light towers, cutting torches, and electronic traffic control devices. Police presence needs to be on site, and public notices on all available media. Multiple crews will be required, since the work is around the clock until complete.
I'll post any photos I can find, when they're available. I might even go and take a gander. Time will tell, but this one is something to watch.
New homes are expensive. Older homes are expensive, too. Home prices have now reached the point a few percentage points in interest can lead to not having the ability to purchase a home. So, who will blink first? Lenders, those selling homes, or those buying homes? If the product is beyond what people can, or will, pay, either the price goes down, or the seller has to sit on their merchandise.
Even rental prices are going beyond what people can pay. That, in my opinion, will break the stalemate. Large apartment complexes are money pits without renters. They're building them as fast as they can, hoping the market will support the endeavor. I don't think it will, and either the prices go down, or the properties are sold at a reduced price (future lower rents). Bankruptcy for the investors is always an option, but leads to problems with future investment opportunities. In the end, all that invested in the bloated market will suffer. It's now only how much money will be lost.
