Editorial: Why does road construction take so long?

Is it just me, or is construction along I-20 on Ranger hill dragging on way longer than it should? I've only lived in Abilene for a year, but it seems every time I made a trip here before that there was some sort of delay at Ranger Hill. According to some folks that have been here a while, it's been about 10 years since the project began. So I'm asking...Why is it taking so long? Does anyone have an answer?

The good news is this: it seems to be wrapping up. I have been fooled a few times over the past few months, though. On one trip to Fort Worth I noticed all 4 lanes were open! On my next trip a couple weeks later, they were re-surfacing the hill and it was one lane in each direction again. It seems that each time it's complete something else comes up and it becomes a construction zone again.

The reason I thought of this was because the city of Abilene re-surfaced South 14th street in front of our station this week. And that's just how long it took. This week. In a matter of days, the one mile stretch from the freeway to Pioneer was torn up, re-surfaced and the lines re-painted. If it can be done that fast, why do some projects (like Ranger Hill) take so long?

Yes, I admit a few things. An Interstate is a bit different from a city street. Also, several streches of I-20 between Ranger and Weatherford were re-paved (with concrete, not just re-surfaced with black top). Ranger Hill was probably part of that project. I-20 is also a federal roadway, and dealing with money for roads from the Feds comes with a lot of red tape. But seriously, 10 years? Isn't it a bit much? I know you guys living in Eastland County have to be more frustrated with it than me.

The discussion starts right here, right now. Post your comments.

Reporting Live, Via Satellite!

If you've been following our high school football coverage on BigCountryHomepage.Com Sports this fall, you've no doubt noticed that our BCH Sports Team, David, Tyler, and Manny, are serious about Big Country football!  This season, we have covered more games each Friday night than ever before.  And we've added a great new feature....live coverage from far-away cities each Friday night!

In 2007, our parent corporation, Nexstar Broadcasting, purchased a satellite uplink truck, or "sat truck," to be shared by Nexstar's western Texas markets; stations in Abilene, San Angelo, Wichita Falls, Midland/Odessa, Lubbock, and Amarillo.  The truck is based in Lubbock, primarily because it's used for broadcasting many Texas Tech athletic events.  But virtually every Friday night this season, our sat truck has been, well, "ours!"  During 3-5A district play, we were able to cover both Abilene ISD schools live; we used our local "live vans" at Shotwell Stadium, and the sat truck in Midland.  In addition, we used the truck to broadcast from Brownwood's game at Cowboys Stadium, and we've already booked the truck solid during the playoffs!

To many people, all t.v. live trucks look fancy, but to us, there's nothing like a satellite truck.  While our friends at KTXS have had their own sat truck for years, the freedom to go live from anywhere in the hemisphere is new to us.  Yes, we have the fancy live vans with the tall towers, or masts, that rise 40'-50' above the ground, but those have limited range, usually 30-40 miles from the television station.  Sat trucks have much larger dishes, which point to the sky, and transmit their signals 25,000 miles up to an orbiting satellite.

Here are some pictures of our sat truck, taken at the Cooper/Midland High game on November 5, 2010:

This is a rare sight at any high school football game: two satellite trucks.  On the left is, of course, KTXS' Live Star, which they've had since 1992.  Our truck is on the right.  Since we share it with several other stations, our truck only brands the Nexstar logo.

The interior of our truck is truly a television station on wheels.  Bob Bailey, the Chief Photographer at KLBK/KAMC in Lubbock, is the truck's primary operater.

Our powerful laptop computer features the same Avid Newscutter professional editing software that we have in our edit suites at the station.  Our JVC HD cameras shoot on SDHC memory cards; all we have to do it take the cards out of the camera, insert them into the laptop, and begin editing!

This is a shot of the "dish" as seen from a small window inside the truck.  The dish is about 6 feet wide, and the transmitter is powerful enough to send the digital t.v. signals to orbiting satellites 25,000 miles in space.  The bright spots are reflections of ceiling lights against the window.



Manny Diaz and I prepare for the first live satellite shot of the day from Midland's Grande Communication Stadium.  In all, we did about a dozen "hits" for both KTAB and KRBC during the 5, 6, and 10pm newscasts.



This is not a satellite truck.  This is one of the three "microwave" vans we have here in Abilene.  The dishes sit atop towers, or masts, that when pressurized with air rise up to 50 feet.  The digital microwave signals are sent between the dish on the van and an antenna at the t.v. station on S. 14th.  The maximum range is 40-50 miles, depending on terrain.  In this shot, the dish and mast are in the stowed position while filling up at the 7-11 at S. 7th and Butternut.

One of our microwave vans at work on election night, November 2, 2010, as KRBC's Morgan Bond prepares to go live.

An "artistic" view of my camera with the 50' mast in the background....