Well...what started out..as an Ugly Day...Battling with IDOT District 6 Sub Contractors....over a Stop Valve, that Had Better be in the Temporary Tile, that runs to our Basement.
{One Contractor, says there Isn't One, the Other...yesterday...said There Is!!!! Hahahaha}
When the Creek Comes Up...if I get One Drop of Muddy Creek Water, in our basement...
Fur Is Going To Fly.
Took a deep breath, and...actually....found a Smile, on my face, for the First Time...in a Long, Long...Time, down the rabbit hole...
when Helper, Brandon...helped me fix the Old...'Iowa Hurricane Beaten' Martin House.
The little Bird's...Pounced on It...as soon as we got it straightened up, and secured.
: ) : ) : )
Going down to the rabbit hole, is nearly impossible, for my soul.
My Heart...can't Stand...to SEE...This Wrongful Butchering, as most reading this...know...all too well.
I, was taking pictures...of the Happy...little Birds, then....
looked up, and saw someone...being thrown...onto the side...of the Highway.
Oh My GOD!!!
If you click on this image...and enlarge it.... you can see...a Motorcycle, and Rider...laying on the ground, just North...of our Driveway.
There was a Semi...making a Left turn... into EIB's Drive, across the road from us.
The cars, behind the SEMI...couldn't SEE him waiting, until They Were On Top....of Him.
: ( : ( : (
{Ya can't See the South Side of the Bridge, from the North...until you're ON It.
That High Bow, for The Trail Under...is a MESS}
The Biker, was between two cars.
There was a LINE of Cars....oh my.
Had...the Biker... Not...went off the Highway, he would've been Sandwiched....killed.
As it was...he was hurt.
Pinned...under his Bike.
I Yelled...at Brandon....to RUN!!! RUN!!!
Help That Man!!!
My ankle, is so bad...I, can't run...as fast as I Knew....I Needed To.
{I thought about it...later. Talked to Brandon...about it, this morning...
I, was in so Much Horror...when I saw This....
I Directed Brandon...Straight Into DANGER, telling him to help the Biker.
Oh...My God.
They BOTH...could've been Killed...next to THIS INSANITY!!!}
Brandon, said he couldn't Think...of Anything Else...last night.
We...were BOTH Sick...
NOT ONE PERSON STOPPED, to Help...that Poor...Biker.
: ( : ( : (
The Biker...was really...in shock.
He...was stunned, by it all.
Angry...with the Truck Driver.
I said...."Oh...no. I have pictures. It wasn't the Truck Driver's Fault. He had his signal on, and was waiting to turn left, properly."
Pulled out my phone...and showed the Biker, an image...of the Truck sitting there, and you could see his signal flashing.
This Is ALL...the Fault...of The IDOT District 6, and Fairfax, City Hall.
No Wrongful Trail...Accommodations, would mean...
Lower Bridge Elevation.
Lower Elevation...means, MUCH Clearer Vision.
wow.
wow.
I told Newman, from District 6, a few weeks back, while standing in our Drive...where the Broken Harley...sat, yesterday...
The IDOT District 6, should've Never...Opened This Highway Up...to Through Traffic, until Their Butchering Was Done.
Told him...I, understand...people would be angry, because it would take them another 10 minutes...to get to where they are going.
I, have to wonder....how many of those...Impatient Drivers...would Trade...one of Their Family Members, like...The Biker, for those 10 minutes...they are saving.
Sickening.
Absolutely...Sickening.
That Truck, on the right....can't SEE Over The New Bridge, to the North.
No Way.
: ( : ( : (
All for Fairfax's Suicide Trail.
Every Wrongful Inch....of It.
To the right...at the same height...of the temporary Wall, is the New Highway/Trail....Height.
Same Height...as The Temporary Wall.
The IDOT District 6...Engineers, keep saying the Bridge was elevated 2 Feet.
Which is a Lot...like a Mini Viaduct, It Crowns, on a Curve.
To the left...in the same image...is the Original...Highway. Old Highway, in front of our home.
I kept thinking....{tho, I'm not an Engineer} That...New Highway....looks a Lot...Taller, than 2 feet, compared to the Old.
So...took my Old...48 inch...wooden measure, and measured.
Seems, District 6, is Mistaken.
Closer to 3 Feet of a Crown, 'Elevation'.
When you approach the Bridge from the North, heading South...you can't SEE in Time...if I'm turning into my Drive, or...EIB Trucks, like yesterday...are turning, until car's are on Top of Us.
I haven't parked in our Driveway....since the IDOT Opened This Mess Up, to Through Traffic.
It's Far Too Dangerous.
The Bridge, on This Curve...Is Bowed.
I...tried, and Tried....to Tell Jim Schneoblen, Newman Abuissa, Steve Staebler...from District 6, this...Repeatedly...Verbally, and...In Writing.
: ( : ( : (
This New...Massive Bridge, according to Nate Carhoff, who created the Plans, for This Bridge...in front of our home...for the IDOT District 6, said in an Email, which I have...
Without Fairfax's Trail Plans, the Elevation of {New} Bridge would come down considerably.
We filed a lawsuit, and reached...an Agreement...{Signed and Recorded, in Linn County, Iowa} that states...
"There shall be no accommodation for a bike trail in connection with the construction of the bridge adjacent to seller's property or the right of way acquired from seller for this project."
The Agreement was recorded on January 16, 2019, book 10279, page 217, Linn County Recorder records.
Jim Schnoebelen...from District 6, said...in Writing, to me...on April 13th, 2020,
"A copy of that Agreement was attached, and am familiar with that Provision".
Guess... What, ; )
District 6, decided...they'd just Breach Our Recorded Agreement, and Do It Their Way, and Build That Trail, and encourage Folks...to walk/ride....Right Next to The Insane Traffic.
Raise That Bridge's Elevation...to Accommodate Fairfax's Trail...Under.
Anyway.
They may as well...have Spit in My Face, and...The Law's.
Took More Land...Through Condemnation...from Us, for Fairfax's Suicide Trail....
NOT For Highway Maintenance, and Road Improvement....The PURPOSE we were Condemned For.
Nooooo.
Solely...for Fairfax's Suicide Trail...Accommodations.
yes...yes...yes...
I, can Prove It, In Writing, from Their Own Engineers.
The Old...Highway 151 Bridge, was MUCH Flatter, even...with The Highway, didn't have a Big Bow, so Much...higher than our Drives.
You could Easily SEE Both Directions of Traffic from our Drives, and Intersections.
Jim, from District 6, will say...a left turn lane...will eliminate...this.
He's wrong.
That Left Turn Lane...will become a 'Passing Lane',
when we try to slow down, and turn Right, into our Drives, or at the intersections.
May God Help...Anyone, who Meet's Them, while trying to Turn Left...Properly.
When I told Staebler, from District 6, that...long before the IDOT Broke Ground...
He said..."Well...That's Illegal."
{using the Left Turn Lane...as a 'Passing Lane'. }
; )
hahahaha....
I, replied... "You are so right. I, forgot...Everyone Obeys The Law."
{Former Councilwoman Beer, was here...when we had that discussion. }
{The IDOT District 6, can't even follow 'The Law', in 'Recorded Agreements', they ought not...be Expecting...Others....to, either. }
There have been FOUR Accidents...near here, in the last week...
THAT I KNOW OF.
I'm not a Lawyer....
but, here's a few legal descriptions...I've thrown out there, to The Mayor of Fairfax, Council...Engineers, and Contractors...over the last 5 years.
'Fraud'...
'Breach of Contract'...
'Reckless Endangerment'
THEY ALL KNEW ABOUT ALL OF THIS...
YEARS BEFORE GROUND WAS BROKEN.
2012, is When...Fairfax City Hall, had the Bright Idea...to Put a Walking Trail...Under, and On, 151, Next to One of The MOST Dangerous....Stretches of LINN COUNTY, Iowa,
'The Urban Area of Fairfax, Iowa'.
{Not My Words. The Words of The University of Northern Iowa, for the IDOT's 2010 Traffic Safety Study}
I Begged The Mayor, Council....IDOT District 6, to conduct a Safety Study...concerning Pedestrians...and Cyclists...Next to 151, have a Feasibility Report, put together..at the Very Least, Before They Spend Millions on This...Suicide 'Project'
They ALL Flatly Refused.
Publicly.
I asked the Mayor...Publicly...how about, if I...paid for an Independent 'Safety Study'
He Replied...
"I wouldn't even consider Looking At It."
Publicly.
wow.
I asked the Mayor, and Council...when I handed them Each, a 52 Page Report, with The 2010 Safety Study, to Please...ask The City's Attorney to Look It Over.
They Refused.
I, told them...nearly 4 years ago...when I was on The Agenda...with these Facts,
"Ok...You may not want to show Fairfax's Lawyer...this information...but, I know a few Lawyer's...who will be very Interested in this.
The Attorney's...for The Survivors."
I...even called The Linn County, County Attorney, Jerry Vander Sanden, back then...asked him...if I should hand over the Report/Study, to Fairfax's Lawyer, myself.
He said...Yes.
Went on...and said, he wished people would bring things like This...to His Attention, before...someone get's hurt, not...after.
So...I called Fairfax's 'Then'...Lawyer.
He said to me...flatly....
The Mayor, had directed him... 'To Not Participate In This Matter."
wow.
wow.
Told him....how Sorry I was, that Fairfax...was too Cheap...to have Him..at Every Meeting.
He Needed To Be There.
THEY NEED HELP.
Legal Advise.
It's gonna cost this Town, and So Many....FAR MORE, than a few buck's...in City Attorney Fees.
Wow.
It's beginning.
The Lawsuits...are gonna start Piling Up...like the Vehicles...on 151, in Fairfax, Iowa.
All...
for Fairfax's Wrongful 'Suicide'...Trail.
wow.
I won't even get into The Stallman Drive...Mess.
When the accident's start happening there, Ya'll will know All of the Details, and Countless...
Forewarnings to IDOT District 6, and Fairfax, City Hall....
that fell...on Deaf Ears.
wow.
I keep thinking back...about the Man, from District 6, who said...several years back...
"The IDOT isn't in The Trail Building Business"....
Hahahaha.
Oh, Sir....You, are Mistaken.
The IDOT Not Only Builds Them....on Bridges, but Grades for Them...Right Next to The Highway.
Wrongfully...
I...might add.
; )
I do want to say...once, again...
There is One...Incredibly Honest Man, I've dealt with, at District 6, from the Very Beginning.
May God Bless Him.
I've also dealt with Two...Hard Working, Helpful...'Conscientious' Men, from The 'Right of Way' Department in Ames/Des Moines.
May God Bless...Them.
Truly....don't know how I could've Survived...this Long...Ongoing...Wrongful...Heartbreaking Battle,
without The Best Lawyer...in The State,
'Josey Wales'.
{not his Real Name...of course. ; ) However...he's as
Tuff, Sharp...and Quick,
as 'Mr. Josey Wales'.
He has 'Grit'. }
May God Bless Him.
When 'This'...is all finally done, I'm writing a Book.
I've been wanting to write...about many things, over the years...
Nothing compares to This....Story.
It'll be Interesting...to see how it ends.
This...'Wrongfulness'...should Never, Ever....Happen to Anyone, Ever....
Again.
Ever.
Love to Ya....
Prayers for All.
Barb C.
No comments:
Post a Comment