It got a bit overshadowed by Cobb County’s Atlanta Braves bridge fiasco, but the Falcons got their own crazy-expensive pedestrian bridge as well as part of their new stadium deal with the city, at a crazy price tag of $27 million. That was up from an initial, marginally less crazy, price tag of $12.8 million, with the increase thanks to rush charges to get to bridge ready for this year’s Super Bowl:
At the council’s Transportation Committee meeting earlier this week, Katrina Taylor-Parks, deputy chief of staff to Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, requested that the committee approve an additional $12.3 million in funding quickly because of next year’s NFL Super Bowl, which will be played at Mercedes-Benz.
“It is time sensitive,” Taylor-Parks said at the committee meeting. “You know Atlanta is planning on hosting a huge event in early 2019, actually several.”
Fortunately, the bridge was completed on time. Less fortunately, it will be closed for Super Bowl week, because security:
“The bridge is considered inside the stadium security perimeter,” said Alison Blue, spokeswoman with AMB Group LLC, the parent company of the Atlanta Falcons. “It will be used by only credentialed staff/media after they’ve gone through a security checkpoint.”
On the bright side, Northside Drive, the road that the bridge spans, will be closed during the Super Bowl itself, so nobody will need a bridge to get across it. On the significantly less bright side, what the heck was that extra $14.2 million for, then? Hopefully at least the Falcons will turn the bridge lights on, so football fans can admire it as really pricey artwork.
These are often a massive waste to build in the first place, it is like 7 times longer to walk and around a two story climb. Most people would bypass it at ground level anyway, there is even multiple crosswalks near it, I see people jaywalk all the time to bypass a couple of these near my office.
Atlanta is like a kid with money in his pocket for the first time. They spend on these things as if the money is dirty or something.
Maybe they were hoping the extra $14.2 would allow the bridge to connect Falcons fans to an alternate universe where they didn’t blow a 28-3 lead.
Remember this epic Peyton roast at the ESPYs?
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-y0g0X27YU?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent&w=640&h=360]
Nice job, Mr. Blank. No, seriously, fantastic work for pushing the boundaries of excellence in pointless expendetures.