Crossing is too costly not to finish

I drive by the now blocked intersection at Broadway/Brazil and San Fernando Road every morning on my way to work. I have watched in amazement as a perfectly good 50-year-old railroad-grade crossing was turned into a modern safe edifice. It looks like the work is complete and all that is left to do is throw the switch, activate the signals and crossing arms and be done.

Not so fast. It seems that the city of Los Angeles doesn’t have the money to finish their part of the project, whatever that is.

The city of Glendale, Caltrans and the railroad people got all their money together, but still we sit with an almost competed project and the great inconvenience of not being able to use the crossing. Los Angeles is waiting for some federal grant money. Who knows how long that might take?

My point: The people we elect and the people they appoint are supposed to be smarter than this. Who starts a big expensive project without knowing that all the money is in place? This is a rhetorical question. Our brilliant city leaders and their appointees, that’s who.

The good news for our officials is we will all forget about this the next time they are up for election and we will start this joke of a process all over again.

We get what we deserve.

Jim Kussman
Glendale