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STUART, Fla. (CNN) -- The most expensive item on Florida's list of economic stimulus projects is drawing fire from some residents and at least one public official, all questioning whether it's needed at all. The proposed $128 million Indian Street Bridge across the St. Lucie River has been debated in Martin County, Florida, for more than 20 years. But now that it has been cleared to receive money from the federal government's nearly $800 billion economic stimulus effort, the debate may be over. Critics say the span, which will connect the communities of Palm City and Stuart, is wasteful because...

Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources said bridge repair would cost $4 million and take two years. Hawaii residents complete for free.A bridge was damaged on the island of Kauai by flooding. The Hawaii state Department of Land and Natural Resources told residents it would cost $4 million and take two years to come up this the money. The residents completed the repair with donated materials and labor in only eight days. This is a great example of government bureaucracy vs. private sector initiative.

It seemed that Joe Biden had found the perfect example of a "shovel-ready" stimulus project. The 79-year-old bridge over the Conodoguinet Creek in North Middleton Township, Pennsylvania had rotted steel, crumbling concrete, and visible holes. So Biden went to Pennsylvania the week before the stimulus was signed into law to adopt the bridge as the poster-project for the bill.

During a change of venue hearing Thursday, the father accused of throwing his four children off the Dauphin Island Bridge pleaded guilty to capital murder.

BASRAH — Provincial government officials and Coalition partners laid the first batch of cement for a new bridge crossing the Shatt al Arab River here, Feb. 7. The new Tannumah Bridge will link Downtown Basrah with the eastern neighborhood of Tannumah. “This will open a huge gate into the economy of Basrah,” said Sayeed Najem Mutarif, the Provincial Council community reconstruction chairman. “It will help increase trade into Basrah and all of Iraq.” “Every time I pass the old bridges, it hurts me to see them in the state they are in,” said Basrah Governor Mohamad El Wa'eli. “A country...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2, 2009 – More than 100 Afghans and Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team members attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new $180,000 Bakshi Khiel Bridge in the Rokha district of Afghanistan’s Panjshir province Jan. 26. Rokha district villagers in Afghanistan’s Panjshir province gather early at the Bakshi Khiel Bridge in Panjshir Valley to celebrate the bridge’s grand opening, Jan. 26, 2009. A flash flood destroyed the previous bridge in mid-2007. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. On June 27, 2007, a flash flood ravaged parts of the district, destroying the previous bridge and killing 20...

Local shaykhs and an Iraqi Soldier discuss the future of the area after a bridge reopening ceremony in Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad, Jan. 18, 2009. The bridge crosses the Salty River, joining two halves of the Mamour Tribe. Photo by Spc. Jamie Vernon, 1st Armored Division. BAGHDAD — Leaders from the Iraqi Army, local shaykhs and Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers participated in a bridge reopening ceremony in Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad, Jan. 18. The improvement in security and reduction in sectarian violence made it possible to reopen the bridge which had separated a tribal community. The reopening also returns...

BAGHDAD – Leaders from the 55th Brigade, 17th Iraqi Army Division, local Sheiks and Task Force Thunder, 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad participated in a bridge reopening ceremony Jan. 18 in Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad. The improvement in security and reduction in sectarian violence made it possible to reopen the bridge which had separated a tribal community. The reopening also returns the area to a sense of normalcy. Iraqi Col. Rasheed, commander of the 55th Brigade, 17th Iraqi Army Division, discussed how important the bridge over the Salty...

BAGHDAD – Iraqi Security Forces, local leaders and Multi-National Division Baghdad Soldiers participated in a ground breaking ceremony marking the widening of the Bawi Canal Jan.18 in the Salman Pak region, southeast of Baghdad. The ceremony is one of a series of ground breaking projects to improve the infrastructure of the Mada’in and Marquez Qadas to improve the quality of live for the citizens. Maj. Jason Joose, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad executive officer, welcomed Iraqi Army Brig. Gen. Hussein, 45th Brigade Iraqi Army commander, Shaykh Qais, Mada’in tribal...

KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 2, 2009 – Afghan leaders and coalition members celebrated the opening of a bridge in Uruzgon province that promises residents a vibrant new connection to surrounding communities. Afghan villagers walk across the Chutu Bridge to mark its opening in Deh Rawood district, Uruzgon province, Dec. 30, 2008. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. John Gay  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. More than 250 people attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Chutu Brige in the Deh Rawood district for what officials say was the largest construction project in the area for 2008. Afghan construction workers and...

This year for Christmas I decided to build something out of gingerbread. I didn't want to build the typical gingerbread house so I decided to do a bridge of some sort.

Is it just me or do the words Kennedy and bridge conjure up images of Ted Kennedy going off one at Chappaquiddick? And honestly, don't we have enough landmarks named after JFK and RFK already? Apparently not.Several generations of Robert F. Kennedy's family have gathered for a ceremony renaming New York City's Triborough Bridge in honor of the slain senator and U.S. attorney general.Kennedy's wife, Ethel, sons Joseph and Robert Jr., and daughter Kerry were joined Wednesday by dignitaries — including former President Bill Clinton — in a Queens park at the foot of the bridge.Kennedy was assassinated in 1968...

WASHINGTON — The Interstate 35W bridge collapsed because of forces so great a massive piece of steel was stretched as if it were latex, eventually ripping apart and causing one of the biggest transportation disasters in U.S. history. Holding the first of a two-day hearing before it releases final findings and recommendations, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday the collapse in Minneapolis was caused by a fatal design error. The error allowed an accumulation of weight added to the bridge over its 40-year lifespan — plus the weight associated with a new construction project — to finally topple it,...

BAGHDAD, Nov. 12, 2008 – Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division’s 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, attended a bridge reopening ceremony in northwestern Baghdad’s Kadhamiyah district yesterday. Northwestern Baghdad’s Al Aima Bridge, which has been closed since a deadly stampede in 2005, reopened in northwestern Baghdad’s Kadhamiyah district Nov. 11, 2008, as a result of the combined efforts of local leaders and Iraqi and coalition forces. U.S. Army photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Al Aima Bridge had been closed since 2005 when a deadly stampede...

California faces a massive deficit even higher than projected in recent weeks - $11.2 billion this fiscal year -- Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata said Wednesday. Without immediate intervention, the nightmare could total an additional $13 billion next fiscal year, according to Perata, citing numbers he said came from the governor's office. The Oakland Democrat said the budget gap cannot be bridged by cuts alone, and that he supports raising revenues by restoring vehicle license fees and taxing offshore oil production. Together, the two tax proposals would generate about $7 billion per year - though considerably less in the...

Golden Gate Bridge officials vote for suicide net SAN FRANCISCO — Golden Gate Bridge officials have voted to hang a stainless steel net below the iconic span to stop suicides. The Golden Gate Transportation District's board of directors voted 14-1...

Governor Pawlenty and other officials announced Monday when the new Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis will open. The bridge will open to traffic on Thursday at 5 a.m., just over a year after the old one tragically collapsed into the Mississippi River and cut off a key Minneapolis artery. Pawlenty was joined on Monday at a news conference on the new bridge by Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and members of Minnesota's congressional delegation. Officials also announced plans for a memorial to honor the victims of the August 1st, 2007, collapse of the old I-35W bridge that killed 13 people and...

Here is former aide to Gov. Sarah Palin, Meg Stapleton, explaining to CNN's Wolf Blitzer the reality of Gov. Palin's role in killing the so-called, "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska. Democrats are claiming Gov. Plain is lying about her role in killing the project, saying she actually favored it. Stapleton explains that Gov. Palin at first supported the concept of a Bridge to the residents of the area in need, but once she became Governor and learned the final plans for the Bridge and the massive nature of it's cost, she made the decision to kill the project. Clearly, Wolf...

There've been lots of thing written the past couple days about Palin's alleged flip-flop on the Gravina Island and Knik Arm Bridges (aka, Bridges to Nowhere). The Wikipedia articles, like most, need to be read with a grain of salt, but there are a number of sources listed and a good place to start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravina_Island_Bridge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knik_Arm_Bridge Let's summarize the salient points about the Bs2N and how it affects Palin's candidacy: 1) Palin did support the bridge projects when running for governor. No controversy there; it's well known and was a point, albeit a minor one, in the gubernatorial campaign. The...

Local residents and Iraqi government officials celebrated the opening of a bridge Aug. 28, 2008, uniting the cities of Najaf and Kufa, south of Baghdad. Among those officials attending was Iraq Vice President Adil Abdal-Mahdi who said the project shows the government’s commitment to improve people’s lives. USACE photo. KUFA --- During the recent opening ceremony of a new bridge south of Baghdad, Iraq's vice president said the $6.5 million project shows the Iraqi government's commitment to improving people’s lives in poorer areas that were ignored by the former regime. "Projects such as the new Imam Ali Bridge will help...