Clear Creek Courant: Loop to replace bridge to prepare for 2008 season
That was a very interesting article. Thanks for posting it Jeff.
In the second paragraph, I read that
"Opening day for the 2008 season is set for May 24." Further down the page, in the fourth paragraph, I read that
"Pre-work is under way to prepare for the bridge reconstruction."
Assuming that was the project's status as of February 9, when Jeff posted the link, it appears that the CHS expects to spend only 3 and 1/2 months going from "pre-work" (whatever that is) to having a newly installed railroad bridge. While I don't know anything about this particular project, I'm very skeptical of this timeframe. While a bridge project could be done that quickly, everything would have to go perfectly and the resulting bridge would cost more than it should have.
The fourth paragraph ends with this sentence:
"Both Bell and Hill expressed confidence that, short of some totally unforeseen complication, the Loop will open as scheduled."
Anyone want to try predicting what "totally unforeseen complication" will be blamed for why there is no train on May 24?
Perhaps that "totally unforeseeen complication" will be a "freak" snowstorm or other bad weather, something that would never ever be expected to happen in Colorado during March or April? Perhaps the "totally unforeseen complication" might be that Clear Creek will be running too high & fast for construction to be done safely? Snow melt in Colorado during April and May qualifies as force majeure, right?
Perhaps the "totally unforeseen complication" might be a permitting issue? Does anyone know if this bridge project will require environmental permits because of in and/or near stream construction? Are there any springtime fish runs in Clear Creek that would limit times when construction can happen?
CHS's use of the phrase "totally unforeseen complication" is what makes me very skeptical. The successful project managers I've worked for never said things like that. Instead, they scheduled and budgeted their projects so that that they had enough buffer to absorb unexpected delays and unexpected conditions.
For the sake of Georgetown, I sure hope that everything goes perfectly for the CHS. However, given their past performance, expecting the CHS's 85,000 rider forecast to actually come true is like expecting Lucy to not pull the football back.
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Chris Webster
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