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This is a great initiative which I fully support. But why does it take 4-6 years (including several months of complete road closure) to build what is, in the gr

This is a great initiative which I fully support. But why does it take 4-6 years (including several months of complete road closure) to build what is, in the grand scheme of things, a quite small bridge?

icegreentea2 2y ago
So the article says that Agoura Road (which is not the highway) will be closed, but the project FAQ still says that it won't be? And the government pre-notices don't seem to mention anticipating closing the road either... https://101wildlifecrossing.org/crossing-faq/ https://101wildlifecrossing.org/crossing-faq/ https://www.agourahillscity.org/Home/Components/News/News/3936/524?backlist=%2F%3Fid%3D2837 https://www.agourahillscity.org/Home/Components/News/News/39...
BurningFrog 2y ago
This is lightning speed for California construction...
- kjkjadksj 2y ago
  They can go hyperspeed if they want. See freeway building after northridge earthquake or when they replaced an entire bridge over the 405 in one night.
kjkjadksj 2y ago
Because they aren’t building a cheap old bridge animals will probably learn to use. They are effectively regrading the mountainside and landscaping over this bridge to try and blend it in with the landscape. Imo its a waste of money. Crabs learn to use the dead simple ugly bridges. Crabs. A coyote or a mountain lion or deer (what you’d see using this thing in CA) all already use human style bridges to cross highways.
- themadturk 2y ago
  Not sure that it's a complete waste of money, but it's pretty obvious that animals will use any means of getting across that's convenient.
smithkl42 2y ago
Completely agreed. All the nonsense about getting just exactly the right soil composition, letting the soil "age", and what-not, seems bizarre and silly. If an animal needs to use the bridge, it'll learn to use the bridge. Spending so much extra money and time to get the vegetation just right is a waste of taxpayer dollars.
gamblor956 2y ago
Believe it or not, the people that design and build these bridges have a lot more experience than you do. So if they're doing something that doesn't make sense to you, you should ask yourself what you're missing, and not question their basic competence. The point isn't just to make a bridge, or they would use a simple concrete bridge. The point is to make a bridge that is preferable to crossing the highway. And to do that they need to landscape it as if it were part of the landscape. That takes more time because the bridge needs to be stronger to handle the weight of the soil and plants, which means the design, permitting, and construction phases are longer. They're closing the surrounding road for the soil movement part of the project because that part of the project entails risks of landslides, and it's safer to just close the road. However, the road won't be closed the entire time; it will only be closed for a few hours at a time. The months-long period is just the part of the project when the road will be subject to potential closure.

icegreentea2 2y ago

So the article says that Agoura Road (which is not the highway) will be closed, but the project FAQ still says that it won't be? And the government pre-notices don't seem to mention anticipating closing the road either... https://101wildlifecrossing.org/crossing-faq/ https://101wildlifecrossing.org/crossing-faq/ https://www.agourahillscity.org/Home/Components/News/News/3936/524?backlist=%2F%3Fid%3D2837 https://www.agourahillscity.org/Home/Components/News/News/39...

BurningFrog 2y ago

This is lightning speed for California construction...

kjkjadksj 2y ago
They can go hyperspeed if they want. See freeway building after northridge earthquake or when they replaced an entire bridge over the 405 in one night.

kjkjadksj 2y ago

Because they aren’t building a cheap old bridge animals will probably learn to use. They are effectively regrading the mountainside and landscaping over this bridge to try and blend it in with the landscape. Imo its a waste of money. Crabs learn to use the dead simple ugly bridges. Crabs. A coyote or a mountain lion or deer (what you’d see using this thing in CA) all already use human style bridges to cross highways.

themadturk 2y ago
Not sure that it's a complete waste of money, but it's pretty obvious that animals will use any means of getting across that's convenient.

smithkl42 2y ago

Completely agreed. All the nonsense about getting just exactly the right soil composition, letting the soil "age", and what-not, seems bizarre and silly. If an animal needs to use the bridge, it'll learn to use the bridge. Spending so much extra money and time to get the vegetation just right is a waste of taxpayer dollars.

gamblor956 2y ago

Believe it or not, the people that design and build these bridges have a lot more experience than you do. So if they're doing something that doesn't make sense to you, you should ask yourself what you're missing, and not question their basic competence. The point isn't just to make a bridge, or they would use a simple concrete bridge. The point is to make a bridge that is preferable to crossing the highway. And to do that they need to landscape it as if it were part of the landscape. That takes more time because the bridge needs to be stronger to handle the weight of the soil and plants, which means the design, permitting, and construction phases are longer. They're closing the surrounding road for the soil movement part of the project because that part of the project entails risks of landslides, and it's safer to just close the road. However, the road won't be closed the entire time; it will only be closed for a few hours at a time. The months-long period is just the part of the project when the road will be subject to potential closure.