The 3.2 Million Dollar Outhouse

[ivan]

was the shitter constructed with american materials by american labor? how much of the money stayed in the state? thinking up reasons to pay people to do shit seems to be a classic response to shitty economies, no? at least this kind of project, if my assumptions are correct, keeps the life-blood cash in our country, as opposed to corporate tax cuts which go into banks god knows where, or into foreign contractors to do shit everybit as silly as the shitter in question - in fact, hell, i'll get more utility out of this crapper i'll bet then i'll ever see from the military boon-doogles of the past decade.

[jon]

I wonder if the workers on that project screwed off on the internet at work as much as you guys do. That might explain the cost.

[AlpineK]

Instead of squabbling over a shitter in Spray it would be nice to hear from somebody with real world experience building or designing highway rest stops. Maybe somebody has bought and sold one.

 

What did the Hatton Coolee Rest Stop cost and how much to maintain?

 

[img:center]http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/small/34669353.jpg[/img]

 

Hatton Coolee

 

 

[Fairweather]

I wonder if the workers on that project screwed off on the internet at work as much as you guys do. That might explain the cost.

 

Um, I never post from work. Ever. It's a private-sector thing...

[klenke]

WSDOT: We've received a few inquiries about the SR 7 Safety Rest Area Project and wanted to provide you with more information about why the project cost what it did.

 

The $3.2 million project cost (not $4.2 million as reported incorrectly by some media) was higher than we would have liked. However, this project highlights the challenges of meeting an important safety and service need for hundreds of thousands of tourists who travel through Elbe, a community of 29 (according to the 2010 Census).

 

In a rural location, finding a location that met certain factors was not easy. Crews had to work to find a potential location and land that:

 

Met engineering and environmental standards

Satisfied grant conditions

Included line of sight when entering/exiting SR 7

Required that visitors not have to cross rail lines

Was available for sale

 

Beginning with initial site selection in 1998, we identified and evaluated several sites, both private and public lands. Each evaluation had costs, including site analysis and tests, preliminary engineering and so on. We continued to discover reasons that the sites, for one reason or another, would not work – and all of this added to the cost.

 

After 14 years of development and working through these challenges – we agree it’s been long and difficult – we are pleased we now have a facility open and operating and ready to service thousands of travelers who pass through Elbe each year on their way to Mount Rainier National Park.

 

Below, you can find a breakdown of the costs to adapt a two-story, 3,000-square-foot former Civilian Conservation Corps bunkhouse and garage that date to the 1930s. The structure fits within the rural landscape but is maintained to modern standards. While not what you may find along I-5, it’s far from what some have called an “outhouse.”

 

This project was funded with $1.913 million in federal funds, $748,000 in state funds, and $543,000 in Federal Scenic Byway Grant Funds for a total project cost of approximately $3.2 million. Our construction project budget was $1.44 million.

 

Here is our project description and a breakdown of the costs:

 

Total award to contractor Pease and Sons: $1,101,689. The contractor’s cost breakout includes:

Rehabilitation of historic building with two urinals and five vault toilets: $749,085

Site lighting, pavement, grading, storm-water drain system, striping, walkways, and gates: $255,390

Landscaping: $17,500

Subtotal: $1,021,975

Tax (7.8%): $79,714

 

Our construction budget includes approximately $338,370 for construction engineering/inspections, risk contingencies, and project administration (for a total project construction cost of $1.44 million).

The right-of-way and acquisition was $271,000. This location was not a state property.

The cost for this site selection and preliminary engineering was $1.493 million. This process, which began in 1998, included identifying and evaluating multiple sites, both private and public lands. In a remote location, finding that location was not an easy task.

 

So in the end, it was a 14 year process that brings much relief to travelers headed to Mount Rainier.

 

Translation: "Trust us. We're the government. We know what we're doing."

[ivan]

so isn't this an example of stimulus?

 

from the wsdot website, the federal money seems to fit the stated purpose:

 

"The National Scenic Byways Discretionary Grant program, administered by Federal Highway Administration, provides funding for byway-related projects each year that will help Washington State meet its transportation goals. FHWA asks for WSDOT’s ranking of the grant applications. However, FHWA may choose to fund any applications that are submitted to them. Tribal Nations may choose to submit grant applications directly to FHWA for National Scenic Byway Grants. "

 

 

 

[Fairweather]

so isn't this an example of stimulus?

 

from the wsdot website, the federal money seems to fit the stated purpose:

 

"The National Scenic Byways Discretionary Grant program, administered by Federal Highway Administration, provides funding for byway-related projects each year that will help Washington State meet its transportation goals. FHWA asks for WSDOT’s ranking of the grant applications. However, FHWA may choose to fund any applications that are submitted to them. Tribal Nations may choose to submit grant applications directly to FHWA for National Scenic Byway Grants. "

 

 

 

Oh. You must be referring to Obama's $1,000,000,000,000 per year deficit spending and his uncanny ability to outdo all of his predecessors (combined) when it comes to pushing us toward the $20tn brink? Rewarding your union base with the taxpayer dollars of our grand children is a novel way to finance a campaign I suppose. Not even sure Keynes would approve of this little shitter in Elbe.

[ivan]

Not even sure Keynes would approve of this little shitter in Elbe.

hardly! conservative or liberal, all economists are full of shit

 

hasn't the historical answer for low employment/recession been government spending on a wide variety of projects?

[tvashtarkatena]

WSDOT: We've received a few inquiries about the SR 7 Safety Rest Area Project and wanted to provide you with more information about why the project cost what it did.

 

The $3.2 million project cost (not $4.2 million as reported incorrectly by some media) was higher than we would have liked. However, this project highlights the challenges of meeting an important safety and service need for hundreds of thousands of tourists who travel through Elbe, a community of 29 (according to the 2010 Census).

 

In a rural location, finding a location that met certain factors was not easy. Crews had to work to find a potential location and land that:

 

Met engineering and environmental standards

Satisfied grant conditions

Included line of sight when entering/exiting SR 7

Required that visitors not have to cross rail lines

Was available for sale

 

Beginning with initial site selection in 1998, we identified and evaluated several sites, both private and public lands. Each evaluation had costs, including site analysis and tests, preliminary engineering and so on. We continued to discover reasons that the sites, for one reason or another, would not work – and all of this added to the cost.

 

After 14 years of development and working through these challenges – we agree it’s been long and difficult – we are pleased we now have a facility open and operating and ready to service thousands of travelers who pass through Elbe each year on their way to Mount Rainier National Park.

 

Below, you can find a breakdown of the costs to adapt a two-story, 3,000-square-foot former Civilian Conservation Corps bunkhouse and garage that date to the 1930s. The structure fits within the rural landscape but is maintained to modern standards. While not what you may find along I-5, it’s far from what some have called an “outhouse.”

 

This project was funded with $1.913 million in federal funds, $748,000 in state funds, and $543,000 in Federal Scenic Byway Grant Funds for a total project cost of approximately $3.2 million. Our construction project budget was $1.44 million.

 

Here is our project description and a breakdown of the costs:

 

Total award to contractor Pease and Sons: $1,101,689. The contractor’s cost breakout includes:

Rehabilitation of historic building with two urinals and five vault toilets: $749,085

Site lighting, pavement, grading, storm-water drain system, striping, walkways, and gates: $255,390

Landscaping: $17,500

Subtotal: $1,021,975

Tax (7.8%): $79,714

 

Our construction budget includes approximately $338,370 for construction engineering/inspections, risk contingencies, and project administration (for a total project construction cost of $1.44 million).

The right-of-way and acquisition was $271,000. This location was not a state property.

The cost for this site selection and preliminary engineering was $1.493 million. This process, which began in 1998, included identifying and evaluating multiple sites, both private and public lands. In a remote location, finding that location was not an easy task.

 

So in the end, it was a 14 year process that brings much relief to travelers headed to Mount Rainier.

 

Translation: "Trust us. We're the government. We know what we're doing."

 

Or, for some of us, a polite, detailed response.

[tvashtarkatena]

"Ask Me About The $20,000 Shitter I'm Posting From Right Now"

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Not even sure Keynes would approve of this little shitter in Elbe.

hardly! conservative or liberal, all economists are full of shit

 

hasn't the historical answer for low employment/recession been government spending on a wide variety of projects?

 

The project is 14 years old. Bubba was president when it began.

[tvashtarkatena]

Any of you guys ever stared down a thermonuclear colon meltdown in a public setting with no shitter available?

 

You'd pay the 3.2 million.

[Mtguide]

Not even sure Keynes would approve of this little shitter in Elbe.

hardly! conservative or liberal, all economists are full of shit

 

hasn't the historical answer for low employment/recession been government spending on a wide variety of projects?

 

"The only purpose of economic forecasting is to make astrologers appear to be respectable."

-John Kenneth Galbraith

[j_b]

I knew the story of $3 million shitter was going to turn into the claim that "Obama is spending us into oblivion". Talk about alternate reality.

[Fairweather]

 

hasn't the historical answer for low employment/recession been government spending on a wide variety of projects? war

[tvashtarkatena]

A 'historian' would know....

[ivan]

 

hasn't the historical answer for low employment/recession been government spending on a wide variety of projects? war

the war on shit - they hate you for your turds

 

politics as usual - the local reps bring home the bacon for their communities - i've got a mega-million dollar footbridge that's pretty unnecessary right next to my house - in my life, i think i've seen 6 people use it

[KaskadskyjKozak]

A 'historian' would know....

 

"don't be a dick"

 

 

[tvashtarkatena]

Have the mods issue you a safety vest yet?

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Have the mods issue you a safety vest yet?

 

Learn some self-control and you will not need to be reminded.

 

 

[tvashtarkatena]

Who loves ya, baby!

 

Enough with this Hall Monitor shit...I've got brand spankin' new AT boots to thermofit, bitch.

 

FUCK

 

YEAH.