Bypass good for Caribou, not so good for PI

12 years ago

Bypass good for Caribou, not so good for PI

To the editor:

    I‘m sorry that Dana Hagerman feels that a “major complaint wasn’t lodged” over the building of the Caribou Connector (letters to the editor, Aug. 22).

As one of the major public complainers, I can verify that many people did raise objections. I now must admit that I was wrong, and my objections were misguided. After seeing how the project was actually done, it’s clear to me that it will probably be a positive addition to the community. At worse, it will be a wash. The connector ties in well with existing infrastructure and has a minimal “footprint.” Sure, it was expensive. But there are many other far more wasteful ways that our government spends money. At least they actually built something this time.

    At the risk of being wrong twice, I do believe that the Presque Isle bypass looks like a classic white elephant. It is much more massive than Caribou’s, and will have a far more devastating footprint. And it doesn’t use existing infrastructure wisely. If the entire project is built, it will cost four times what the Caribou connector did.

Jim Cyr

Caribou