Oregon's opportunity: chance to transform transportation

By: Scott Dennis

Posted: 7/1/09

If it would please the reader, I would like to discuss a subject that has been near and dear to my heart for almost 10 minutes: dinosaur bones and civil construction. Those pesky remnants of bygone beasts always seem to show up in the most unwelcome places, don't they?
Such was the case when the ancient Greeks decided it would be a good idea to build the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis. Before construction of the temple could begin, the site had to be cleared of hundreds of enormous bones attributed to giants. This kind of inconvenience has troubled a number of momentous construction projects over the centuries, from subway systems to skyscraper foundations.
Fortunately for us all, there is one major project in the works that will more than likely duck this ancient menace, though another problem has arisen - one far more deadly to growth and progress than any heap of old bones.
It was announced a while back that a very cool project was in development down in California and Nevada. A train was to be built that would link, both literally and economically, Los Angeles - playground of the stars - and Las Vegas - playground of, well, everybody else. Ah, but this would be no ordinary train.
This particular train would not run on diesel or coal or happy thoughts. The proposal called for a maglev (magnetic levitation) train to link the regions, blazing through the mountains and deserts at an astonishing 300 miles-per-hour. Part of an $8 billion slate of high-speed rail projects in the economic stimulus package, the maglev line would take pressure off the highways and the environment by transporting scores of the 10 million southern Californians who make the roughly 250 mile-plus drive to Las Vegas every year. Magnetic levitation trains operate similar to monorails, and have an astoundingly high reliability and safety record hovering near ninety-nine percent. These things are, in short, totally awesome.
How can anything about this project be bad? In addition to making it practical to live in Los Angeles and work in Las Vegas - the trip would only take about eighty-six minutes - you would also be able to visit both Disneyland and Vegas in a single, short vacation.
However - and you knew this was coming - there have been problems. As Einstein said, "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds," and such a thing has occurred in this undertaking. Republicans have lambasted the cost of the project, and some critics have derided it as being "a waste of money from Disneyland to Sin City."
The innovative venture received a harsh blow recently when one of its biggest backers, Nevada senator Harry Reid, decided to bail on the plan and side with a cheaper alternative based on, "which one is going to be done and which one is going to be done faster."
The cheaper, faster alternative? A traditional diesel-powered train cleverly called the "DesertXpress" that would go less than half the speed of the maglev train, cost less than half the maglev train, and have a significantly shorter route that would stop well short of southern California's population centers.
If you're not swearing right now - in your mind of course, there could be children around - then think of Oregon's own transportation bill currently rattling around the government chambers. In May the Oregon House approved a $960 million bill to basically beef up the state's roads and other transit systems as well as fund numerous construction projects for rail, air, marine, transit and train projects that backers say could create 4,600 jobs.
Here is a chance for us to create something really great, a chance to lead by example and build something to inspire not only other states, but citizens, students and children alike - as the Nevada-California maglev was supposed to do. In the way that looking at dinosaur bones stimulates our thinking about the possibilities of the past, we can build something to demonstrate the possibilities of the future.
Please, let it be so.

Scott Dennis is a sophomore in fine arts. The opinions expressed in his column do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Barometer staff. Dennis can be reached at forum@dailybarometer.com. n