Burton Speaks

So there's this proposal to widen 217 to accomodate more traffic. I've spoken on this before and think it's a bad idea. But that's beside the point.

Check this article out. In it, the Metro Advisory Council whines that - withOUT financing the widening of 217 by tolls - the project could take until 2089. That's 84 fucking years from now. I'll be dead, but I could have dug a 7 lane tunnel with my BARE HANDS the length of 217 in that amount of time. Please note that this project will cost $500 million dollars, probably because it's the government and they don't know how to spend money.

As a reference point for these outrageous claims, please check out this page from the Oregon Department of Transportation. Please note that, on Highway 26, the government is widing a significant stretch of that road (adding another lane) and modifying on and off ramps (including a tunnel) for $37 million - just over 7% of the cost.

Do these numbers make sense? Am I the only one wondering what the problem is? Looking at 217 from a map, there's room to widen it on either side, it seems.