Well We Can't Have a Bridge, How About a Tunnel?

Today is the 29th anniversary of the death of Nelson Rockefeller. (And remember now, say it with me kids, Nelson Rockefeller died of a heart attack at his desk in his office in New York City.) I have previously written about Nelson's dream of a bridge across Long Island Sound. Well, they've gone underground.

Where I lived on Long Island was near where the terminus of the Cross-Sound bridge would have been located. But now, where all that development has now taken place, a Long Island developer has proposed building a tunnel under it all. Not just any tunnel mind you, but what would be the longest tunnel in the world. The price tag currently sits at $10 billion, built with private funding and with no cost to the taxpayer, until they decide they want to use the tunnel. The toll could be as high as $25 per trip. And don't get your hopes up, the tunnel, if approved, still wouldn't be ready until 2025.

Now faithful readers, I think you all know how I feel about traffic. I've lived in areas that rank high on the lists of worst traffic. Having worked in the Rockefeller Archives and having grown up at ground zero for what would have been the bridge to save Long Island, I have to say, please, do something. It's already too late.

I will say that this idea of the longest tunnel in the world won't really do anything about the traffic (I firmly believe that we are already over capacity, you build more roads and we'll fill them up, too). There needs to be less people. In my youth, I used to travel to New Jersey via the Lincoln Tunnel. Without a doubt, every time I would go through it, I would think of the scene (as my mother would do the same) in Stephen King's The Stand, where one of the characters gets out of a plague stricken New York City by climbing across the rooftops of cars stuck in the tunnel. Just last weekend, I had the opportunity to go to the movies. I went by myself to see I am Legend (although I tried to find a date - Mrs. Brave Astronaut stayed at home and urged me to go). Of course, I am not advocating for that scenario.

For the record, I am Legend, is worth your time and money. If you like Will Smith, for it is his movie. I mean it's him (and the dog) for 3/4 of the movie. Sure there's some flashbacks as to how this all happened, but it's all him. And you have to love the post-apocalyptic New York City. The movie is supposed to take place in 2012 (with the plague hitting in 2009) and there is one scene where Smith is pumping out gas to fill up the many cars he has access to. You can see the price sign - $6.35/gallon. Funny.