There is a new bridge coming, looks like it is going to cross at the site of the old city dump and will link Mormon Trek with Sand Road, an attempt at a new by-pass I guess. You should get a good look at those trailer courts the City secretly wished had been washed away in last years flood. They could not say anything at the time because of the notable politicians who arrived to watch the efforts to save them. The new bridge looks as though it might be as prone to high water as all the rest of the bridges in Iowa City. Why don't they link Melrose and Court with a high bridge. They would have then, only to knock down a couple of those distressingly ugly apartment buildings along Gilbert and a very few houses and we would be able to drive from the East side to 218 without being funneled through the dormitories at rush hour. It would also be flood proof. Now if we could only avoid that potholed
speed trap in University Heights. They sure aren't spending their ill gotten gains on fixing the streets,
I'm scratching my head about what this new bridge accomplishes exactly, maybe a scenic shortcut to the casino in Riverside from the dormitories. Anyway, it does provide much needed new habitat for the homeless folk who stand in the traffic islands at Riverside drive and the 6 by-pass and beg. It also puts Max Yocum's footprint on Iowa City further into the fog of history, we could call it "The Yocumville Bridge", that does not seem appropriate because the bridge decimates and divides Yocumville. I will never forget Max and his contributions to Iowa City lore.(Much more on Max in future blogs)
We could call it the "Lynch Mob bridge" as the eastern side is very close to the site of Johnson County's only lynching when the site was the county seat and called Napoleon. One of the mob was the famous Captain Irish of early Johnson County history. Maybe "Captain Irish Bridge" this would be a more suitable name for the bridge, at the same time making up for the City taking a pass on naming Scott blvd. "Captain Irish Parkway" several years ago. lots to consider here...
