Spot is clairvoyant!

About six weeks ago, MNDOT announced a delay in the commencement of construction of the new 35W and Crosstown commons because it was having trouble getting a contractor to bite on the "creative financing" that the state was proposing. You see, the state was a little "short" and wanted the contractor not only to build the road, but to pay for it, too! The original Strib story has been taken down, but here's an update from the Strib today:

Contractors seem to have rejected MnDOT’s unorthodox financing plan, which required them to provide money to keep the work going between state payments. The message is that contractors were not sure they would ever be paid back, said Dave Semerad, chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota.

How many bidders did MNDOT get after the delay? Zero, zip, zilch, nada. What a bunch of ingrates! But Spot predicted this:

What do you bet that the month delay in the project announced by the DOT stretches into more?

So, south metro residents, while you sit in traffic on our clogged arteries as your own arteries clog, think about the faith-based funding that is making it all possible. Where is that darn rapture when we need it most?

You can lay this at the feet Tim Pawlenty and most of the Republicans in the Legislature - including Geoff Michel, Spot's senator - who made Timmy's veto of the gas tax increase last year veto-proof. The same bunch that did exactly squat about transportation this year, in spite of the soft-shoe you'll get around election time.

Tags: Geoff Michel