Well, Ron Tober surprised me.
The new, new South Blvd. rail line number is………..$462.7 million.
Uh, wow. That is $11 million more than I guessed it would be. And now the project is officially over double the original price tag of $227 million.
But still no word on when the rail line will be completed. Stay tuned.
Update: WBTV’s Tom Roussey reports that Tober is holding fast to the December 31, 2007 drop-dead date provided that CATS gets another $6-7 million from the city in the next few weeks. And WSOC’s Tim Caputo adds that Tober says that should the city fail to come up with the money the project will almost certainly stray into 2008. If so, Tober relates, then the feds are unlikely to fund anymore trains for Charlotte.
Hmmm. Let’s get this straight. Give CATS another sack of cash immediately or no more trains once the South line is done? Don’t throw me in that thar briar patch.
Clearly then, the only sane thing to do is say NO to more money for CATS, finish off the South line, and be done with train building. Forever. Maybe.
One thing is clear, any councilperson who votes to hand more money to CATS is unfit for office.
