Would You Favor a Freeway Bridge over Lake Michigan to Muskegon? (money, build)

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by just1paul

Oh no. What I meant was I think whatever we have that works well, we should keep and keep in good repair, increase if necessary existing lanes or find other solutions. Constantly look at what we have and use it wisely.

I'm right there with ya

[Empidonax]

Originally Posted by Chelito23

I think it's funny how people moan about "driving throught Chicago" as if it was a ten hour detour. Everytime I have driven through Chicago I have PLANNED my trip to avoid rush hour there and it has been a breeze. If I recall correctly I hit Elgin at 4AM and was in Indiana by 5AM, and the roads were empty.

For the past eight years I've been one of those moaners. The trouble really lies in where you're headed to after getting through Chicago, and when you want to get there. My SO has been living near the East Coast, and we can swing the trip in one day (no hotel $$) if our timing is good and if traffic doesn't hold us up. But since we usually start the trip at 9am from either side, a tie-up in Chicago can really kill time and have us arriving much later than desired. Since I have a hard time sleeping really early in the evening, an early morning departure is not viable unless I want to risk falling asleep while driving. If the distance were much shorter (say, Milwaukee-Toledo) we could play around with timing a lot better, but the drive is too long to allow for insufficient sleep and preparation. A bridge over Lake Michigan would certainly help the cause, though yeah, it's unfeasible and would make things a little too easy.

[Brett81]

It would be amazing a I would drive it just for fun.

[Harrier]

Originally Posted by EnjoyEP

Milwaukee City -

You seem like a great guy and all that, but gee whiz, you have indicated that you are a conservative or sorts, yet, you are always about these crazy-expensive unbelievable-tax-and-spend projects.

I know this was a hypothetical, however, even in that hypothetical, this project would cost about 3-bajillion dollars. How in the blue hell would Wisconsin (a high-spending / high-taxing state that finds itself currently in a budget shortfall) and Michigan (well, why kick a dead horse when it is down?) build such a thing? And would the reward - other than "Packers fans having an easier commute to the once-a-year Packers v. Lions at Detroit game" - outweigh the mind-boggling costs?

Why would it have to be funded with taxpayer dollars?

Manned space travel is already taking place funded and operated by private interests and money.

http://www.virgingalactic.com/

[Harrier]

Why not build a bridge across Lake Michigan? | The Michigan Telephone blog

[Dayton Sux]

You know there is an underwater ridge in the middle of the lake, so the lakes minimum depths would be halfway up the lake around where Milwaulkee is.

So maybe ...would it be technically feasible....???

Gawd, mean you imagine driving that thing? You'd be out of site of land. And during a heavy chop, waves crashing over the jersey barriers on the side....Some folks might get panic attacks.

...

[sholomar]

Originally Posted by Brett81

It would be amazing a I would drive it just for fun.

agreed! It will probably never happen...

But hey, at $20 to get across I wouldn't think twice about paying. I'd even pay $50 without hesitation, assuming a smooth, fast ride with no congestion. I suppose they'd treak the price based on how long the lines were at the toll booths to minimize delays.

[ram2]

This would be similar to the bridge connecting Denmark with Sweden.

[trailerguy]

It would be prohibitively expensive. Not only is the lake 80 miles wide, but it is several hundred feet deep in the center. The supporting pylons would be enormous. The lake is also subject to stormy weather, and the bridge would have to be designed to resist that. There would be danger of high winds on the open water blowing vehicles into the lake. In very extreme weather it would have to be shut down completely. We are talking hundreds of billions of dollars, which would never be recovered, even if the toll was over $100, and then very few people would use it. As for your original idea, do you really to make it easier for Detroiters to come to Milwaukee?

[paul boucher]

absolutely