Ask and you might receive…

It always seems that the time before something highly anticipated seems to drag on and on…. In less than two weeks I will begin a week’s vacation. I’ve not taken off that much time in years, mostly because of my husband’s work schedule. This one is bracketed on each end by a day in an amusement park and then a few days in Maine in the middle. There are no noteworthy amusement parks in that far northern state, but there will still be plenty for my husband and I to see and do.  The main thing is the lobster festival. This trip also includes that bridge with the observation tower at the top of one of its pylons.

Speaking of bridges, I did submit my question about the possible appearance of the new Key Bridge. And lo and behold, I did get a reply. Here is my question I sent late last week, my thoughts on when/if I would hear anything, and finally the reply I received:

Hello,

I am hoping you can answer a couple of questions I have regarding the appearance of the new bridge. On the Facebook page there have been some pictures posted of a wind tunnel test on what is apparently a scale model of the bridge. Is this model a potential design variant, or is this how the actual bridge will be? In two of the pictures there is a grate like structure along the edges of the deck. Is this some sort of a wind screen (like that on the Millau Viaduc in France)? I am questioning this as it looks too flimsy to prevent anything but very small cars from going over the edge. Is this a structure that will be on the actual bridge? If so, what is the purpose of it?

Also, in the pictures of the water/scour testing, how accurate to the actual appearance of the bridge are the models? The design artwork that has been released so far is rather vague, but the models seem to be more detailed.

Thanks in advance for your time

Well, I did it. I sent my question to the state transportation department tasked with fielding questions from the public. I got back an automated reply as a confirmation that my email had been received. However, I have no idea if I’ll receive an answer. The Facebook troll says he hasn’t received an answer to his many questions. Unlike the troll, I was polite. But that still doesn’t bode well for my query, but all I can do is to keep an eye out for a response, if there is one. It is now a waiting game. I haven’t made a public post on the Key Bridge site with my question, but if I don’t get an answer I might do that. Not that they would answer me there either, as they answer very few questions at all. Of course, most people come there to complain that they are taking too long to build the new bridge. It’s logical that they would ignore most of those comments. But I have asked, at least I think, a legitimate question. It isn’t of dire importance, but I still want to know. Fingers crossed that someone will answer me.

Well, this afternoon I checked my email and I discovered that I have indeed received a reply to my questions about the new Key Bridge. Surprisingly it was more than just a canned response, and my question was mostly answered. Apparently what I had suspected is the case – any and all representations of the bridge, including scale models for testing, are just conjectural. I don’t find the answer to be surprising, but I wasn’t sure I’d get anything more than a generic “boiler plate” response. In this case I’ll have to give them credit for that.

Hello __________,

Thank you for your questions and for your interest in the Key Bridge Rebuild project.

While the models shown in our recent social media posts reflect the bridge’s structural design, please note that they are conceptual representations. The final design—including architectural, safety, aesthetic, and other elements—is still under development and subject to ongoing review and refinement.

We’re committed to keeping the public informed as the project progresses, and we encourage you to continue following updates on our website and Facebook.

Thank you,

The Key Bridge Rebuild Team

So there you have it, from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. And as I suspected, those scale models are very basic mock ups and are not the final word. Now it is back to the waiting game. I’m waiting only a brief period for my big summer vacation, but it will be a while before the specifics of Doctor Frankenstein’s new monster will be revealed. I cannot help but wonder if it will be a chained monster… In the mean time, I will soon be checking out that northern monster in Maine that I never expected to be able to see in person.