Spring Break
Oregon's opportunity: chance to transform transportation
Scott Dennis
Issue date: 7/1/09 Section: Forum
If it would please the reader, I would like to discuss a subject that has been near and dear to my heart for almost 10 minutes: dinosaur bones and civil construction. Those pesky remnants of bygone beasts always seem to show up in the most unwelcome places, don't they?
Such was the case when the ancient Greeks decided it would be a good idea to build the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis. Before construction of the temple could begin, the site had to be cleared of hundreds of enormous bones attributed to giants. This kind of inconvenience has troubled a number of momentous construction projects over the centuries, from subway systems to skyscraper foundations.
Fortunately for us all, there is one major project in the works that will more than likely duck this ancient menace, though another problem has arisen - one far more deadly to growth and progress than any heap of old bones.
It was announced a while back that a very cool project was in development down in California and Nevada. A train was to be built that would link, both literally and economically, Los Angeles - playground of the stars - and Las Vegas - playground of, well, everybody else. Ah, but this would be no ordinary train.
This particular train would not run on diesel or coal or happy thoughts. The proposal called for a maglev (magnetic levitation) train to link the regions, blazing through the mountains and deserts at an astonishing 300 miles-per-hour. Part of an $8 billion slate of high-speed rail projects in the economic stimulus package, the maglev line would take pressure off the highways and the environment by transporting scores of the 10 million southern Californians who make the roughly 250 mile-plus drive to Las Vegas every year. Magnetic levitation trains operate similar to monorails, and have an astoundingly high reliability and safety record hovering near ninety-nine percent. These things are, in short, totally awesome.
How can anything about this project be bad? In addition to making it practical to live in Los Angeles and work in Las Vegas - the trip would only take about eighty-six minutes - you would also be able to visit both Disneyland and Vegas in a single, short vacation.
Such was the case when the ancient Greeks decided it would be a good idea to build the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis. Before construction of the temple could begin, the site had to be cleared of hundreds of enormous bones attributed to giants. This kind of inconvenience has troubled a number of momentous construction projects over the centuries, from subway systems to skyscraper foundations.
Fortunately for us all, there is one major project in the works that will more than likely duck this ancient menace, though another problem has arisen - one far more deadly to growth and progress than any heap of old bones.
It was announced a while back that a very cool project was in development down in California and Nevada. A train was to be built that would link, both literally and economically, Los Angeles - playground of the stars - and Las Vegas - playground of, well, everybody else. Ah, but this would be no ordinary train.
This particular train would not run on diesel or coal or happy thoughts. The proposal called for a maglev (magnetic levitation) train to link the regions, blazing through the mountains and deserts at an astonishing 300 miles-per-hour. Part of an $8 billion slate of high-speed rail projects in the economic stimulus package, the maglev line would take pressure off the highways and the environment by transporting scores of the 10 million southern Californians who make the roughly 250 mile-plus drive to Las Vegas every year. Magnetic levitation trains operate similar to monorails, and have an astoundingly high reliability and safety record hovering near ninety-nine percent. These things are, in short, totally awesome.
How can anything about this project be bad? In addition to making it practical to live in Los Angeles and work in Las Vegas - the trip would only take about eighty-six minutes - you would also be able to visit both Disneyland and Vegas in a single, short vacation.
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