By WildUtah
When the 880 connector between 980 and the Bay Bridge was rebuilt in 1998, traffic engineers were predicting that it would increase traffic congestion and lengthen almost all trips that used it or passed near it. And it did indeed slightly worsen the traffic conditions in the area compared to the interregnum after it fell down in the Loma Prieta quake in 1989. Traffic is still worse that it would be if CDOT just closed it and turned it into an urban garden or walking path with views or something.
That’s not why it took so long to rebuild. The nine year process was the result of the usual corruption, insider jockeying, incompetence, bureaucracy, and lack of urgency from Bay Area government. The objections of CDOT and local residents that ardently opposed the freeway in their neighborhood were ignored and steamrollered as usual. Of course, the local officials, contractors, and CDOT shared and enjoyed the lucre from the $1,200,000,000 we all paid for the three mile connector.
Meanwhile the 1994 earthquake in LA triggered a special exception to the usual legal process where Gov Wilson could take personal responsibility for selecting a design, a contractor, a price, a schedule, and contract terms for rebuilding several segments of LA highway. They were all delivered on time and well under expected budget. Some were rebuilt in a couple months. No one had time to figure out if those could be beneficially abandoned.
And today Oakland and CDOT still cannot make the simple decision to admit error and close the 880 connector.
Read more here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10397789
WildUtah comments on "Braess' paradox: adding a new road to a city can slow down traffic"
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