NY Pols: "Our Ineptitude Is Measured In the Billions"

Here is an article about a contentious issue over an important bridge in my neck of the woods, the Tappan Zee. I will not wade into the issue of build new vs. fix, but I do want to note one stunning revelation in the article. Here it is: "For one, a new bridge would cost about $15 billion." Holy crap! $15 Billion, with a B for a 3.1 mile bridge! The French just built a modern engineering marvel of a bridge for about $500 million. A new Tappan Zee would be twice as long as the Millau Viaduct (but the roadway would be much lower), but that could hardly be a reason for the cost estimate being 30 times the cost of the MV. Concrete and steel have not gone up that much. Even the San Fran-Oakland Bay Bridge eastern span replacement debacle is estimated to cost $6.3 billion only after $3 billion or so of cost overruns due to its troubled political history. How on earth could it possibly cost $15 billion to build a new Tappan Zee? They must be factoring in unprecedented graft and incompetence. I guess local government officials here are truly self-aware and know just how godawful governments are at managing projects and doing things cost effectively. Self-awareness is the first step to a cure!

UPDATE: Minnesota has conducted a competition to rebuild the collapsed 35W bridge in Minneapolis. Price tag from the winning bidder - $234 million. Even if that estimate doubles in actuality, we could have 32 of those bridges here in New York with the $15 billion that local pols think they need to build a new Tappan Zee.