{"id":6808,"date":"2010-12-16T19:34:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-17T00:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=6808"},"modified":"2022-06-14T07:16:38","modified_gmt":"2022-06-14T12:16:38","slug":"x-to-nowhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/x-to-nowhere\/","title":{"rendered":"X to Nowhere"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are many places that have been labeled a “[Name You Favorite Transportation Infrastructure] to Nowhere”. Sometimes they exist to reference an abandoned site. Other times they focus on an improvement that seemed to benefit an unusually small constituency. I\u2019ll mention two rather well-known instances briefly today. Naturally I will ignore the political issues involved as the gory details aren’t particularly important to this article. Then I\u2019ll then focus a larger portion of my attention on something I stumbled upon by happenstance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bridge to Nowhere<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Ketchikan<\/a>
Ketchikan Airport and Ferry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This designation came to great prominence in 2005. At that time Congress was considering an appropriation of more than $300 million for the Gravina Island Bridge across the Tongass Narrows. The bridge would have provided a direct connection between Ketchikan, Alaska on Revillagigedo Island with its airport on Gravina Island (map<\/a>). Historically, residents used a ferry service<\/a> that ran every 15-30 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gravina Island Bridge failed to receive Federal funding after considerable public outcry. It wasn\u2019t the most cost-effective solution for the 8,900 residents of Ketchikan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are other \u201cbridges to nowhere\u201d including those located in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n