This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A few years back, a certain politician was castigated for supporting construction of an unneeded bridge in Alaska — the infamous "bridge to nowhere."
One would think that a savvy politician such as Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, would remember this example before stepping into the nuclear boondoogle that is his proposed SB199 ("Ratepayers would help Utah go nuclear," Tribune, Feb. 19).
SB199, Bramble's favor to his former legislative colleague-turned-nuclear-entrepreneur Aaron Tilton, is Utah's own bridge to nowhere. This scheme forces utility customers to help pay for Tilton's proposed nuclear reactor in the middle of the southern Utah desert. Bramble's bill would obligate ratepayers like you, me and your grandmother on a fixed income to pay for a poorly managed project that's already seen its projected cost balloon from $3 billion to $16 billion.
At $400 million, Alaska's "bridge to nowhere" was an excellent deal compared to the expense, risk, and ridiculousness of Bramble and Tilton's nuke to nowhere.
Elliott Hansen
Salt Lake City