This issue affected everyone in this area and had very high economic stakes.
Many people became acquainted with Mike Walters during the Bridge OPEN/Bridge Closed debate. Working with a determined group, "Bridging Watertown", Mike fought what looked to be a lock on the City Council and the County's preference to close the bridge for 4 months during the new downtown bridge construction.
The ramnifications of closing the bridge for several months would have devastated Watertown's business community.
Also, it would have caused total havok for emergency services, school programming, community education, and the lives of EVERY PERSON IN AND NEAR WATERTOWN.
WALTERS fought and WON for BRIDGE OPEN!!!
(See below)
The cost to keep the bridge OPEN during construction ended up being less than the alternative of closing the bridge. None of the traffic doom and gloom that was predicted by some on the Council during the construction ever came to fruition. Traffic flowed flawlessly during the construction.
There are over 9,800 trips across Watertown's bridge every day. The only detour would have been to use highway 7, a ten mile (plus), one way trip.
Closing the bridge would have added more than 98,000 miles onto the backs of Watertown's commuters....
EVERY SINGLE DAY DURING THE CONSTRUCTION!
Walters makes his argument to keep bridge open before the vote.
November 26, 2013
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DISASTER AVERTED!
OUR LOCAL GROCERY STORE SAID THEY WOULD lose up to 50% of their profits resulting in half of their 43 employees being let GO, if the bridge was closed for 3-4 months. -INSTEAD, the store had record months of sales during construction. Other businesses said they would face financial ruin or move out of town. -INSTEAD, business boomed and vacant business spots filled.
Emergency services stated response times could have increased by 8-10 minutes. School programs, community ed. and local sports teams and everyone in the area would have faced a logistical disaster.
WM School bus driver claimed that the new round-about has cut 7-10 minutes off of his route in the morning and 7-10 minutes from his route in the afternoon.
In Response to Washburn Editorial HERE
Read Mike Walters' rebuttal from the Carver county news to keep bridge OPEN
Mike's Editorial
click here
click here
"We were told the new downtown bridge would handle 5,000 to 10,000 more cars a day. With 9,800 cars per day now (96 percent of which is local traffic), the new bridge should be ample and serviceable long into the future. It may be 15 to 20 years before the need to divert traffic around the city arises.
It’s nice the downtown bridge will be built first, and a no-brainer for me to keep it open during construction. Actual traffic studies can be done on the new bridge, rather than fictitious studies.
When the beltway is warranted by factual studies, build it in the logical location."
-MICHAEL WALTERS sums up argument to keep bridge open and build the second crossing when and where it is needed.
Walters worked with County officials,state representative Ernie Leidiger, and Senator Julianne Ortman at the state Capitol to help secure funding for the County's portion of the bridge and make the construction project a complete success.
-