[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Happy Thanksgiving.

PING!

[goodnesswins]

You gotta be kidding...engineers still learning about underground utilities” etc...????

[jimtorr]

Never been anywhere near Minnesota, but Huston is talking about some pretty basic stuff he didn’t know about. For instance, some of the first things a project engineer should investigate is utilities and soil conditions. It’s also a given that an existing road used by heavy construction equipment will need to be rebuilt.

It all sounds like the standard corruption found in most large government roads projects.

[VTenigma]

“We didn’t know what we didn’t know,” Huston said of the original engineering and budgeting processes. “There’s still a lot we don’t know.”

---

Absolute horsehockey. It’s not like roads and bridges are a new thing. The engineering firm needs to be strung up by their b...,thumbs.

[knarf]

What Minneapolis islamist is in charge of ways and means ?

[wastedyears]

Gotta love unions.

[DoodleDawg]

"You have to manage it as you go along. We thought we did a good job initially coming up with a budget for this project and what we’ve learned is that it's really hard."

Total crap. This is what they do. They build highways, bridges, and interchanges. If they can't estimate costs based on past experience and knowledge of the area and come up with a budget more accurate than plus or minus 33% then they need to look for another line of work because project management sure doesn't suit them.

The only possible explanation is that they deliberately low-balled their estimates figuring once they got deep into the project then the state would have no choice but to come up with the money they knew they needed from the beginning.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Them pockets ain’t gonna line THEMSELVES, Boy! ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“We didn’t know what we didn’t know,” Huston said of the original engineering and budgeting processes. “There’s still a lot we don’t know.”

Who hires these idiots? Sounds like something Pelosi would say while ramming something up our bums, hoping we don’t notice! Yeesh!

[hal ogen]

What incompetence. But, hey! Taxpayers always are forced to pony-up for such boondoggles. I laugh at these “engineers” and their incompetence.

[OneVike]

Local politicians who spend our money are clueless in being able to grasp the understanding of the length of time you must go to even get ready to build anything.

Mostly because all the the earth worshipping causes will go to court to stop the construction. Oh, and remember, 99% of all regulatory agencies are packed with pro environmentalists. Doesn't matter if you win the first ruling. These groups have big pockets and will go as far as a well chosen judge will allow them to go forward.

Which could slow down a job expected to be halfway complete by Christmas of 2020. Instead the costs keep rising and the project is now languishing at a stalemate in 2024. Just type in the phrase, "The Big Dig" on google and there is a perfect example of what goes wrong with politicians projected costs.

Just imagine the lawsuits coming for any large project in America today. All of a sudden your expected project may still be stuck on the schedule for some judge at some level. Whether it's at the city, county, state, or federal level, your project is being held up by a judge.

OH, and remember, only union workers are allowed to do any construction for 99% of all state, county and cities in America. Is it any wonder that the final price tag for highway construction costs are always 100s of millions more than what the politician's estimated. Especially since someplace along the line someone is going to be up for re-elected. It could also come down to which side has more money in the fight for said Multimillion, or even Billion dollar, project?

The last highway project I know of that finished early and under budget was one built by a private contractor. It was in Southern Ca. After an earthquake, the city brought in a private company. At the time the politicians of LA, understood how low their coffers are getting with each day the freeway was not useable. .

Haven''t heard of one since, although there could be a few other examples, but if so it would be very, very few in number.

Finally, my last word on this, and I doubt anyone is still reading this far into a comment, but thank GOD for Donald Trump. Much of what I ranted about has been getting attention by him. But there is much to do, and I pray he gets re-elected and the Dems get tossed. I have faith that Trump can fix things, but he has a lot of deep state Socialists/Commies to deal with.

[ridesthemiles]

I am a life long accounting/bookkeeper. I have NEVER budgeted for any major purchase & been so far out of the ballpark as this group is.

EVERY SINGLE one involved in this project should be fired. Find a more competent group. NOW.

All of the current group must be directly connected to the “high speed rail” project that California is saddled with.

[VideoDoctor]

About the only time you’ll see a construction project come in at its proposed cost, or UNDER cost is if Trump is in charge.

[shotgun]

$100 million, thats just peanuts. The Washington State department of transportation had to write a $400 million change order in the first month of construction of the 520 Floating Bridge Project. They knew the floating pontoon design was flawed but bid it out anyway.

[ETCM]

Projects might not be approved if the actual cost is presented up front. Pitch it with a best case cost estimate, get the approval and $$$, then come back for more $$$ when the predictable and fully expected cost over runs arise. Profit!