EDITORIAL: A History Lesson for Cranston’s Mayor Hopkins

EDITORIAL: A History Lesson for Cranston’s Mayor Hopkins

Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins has had trouble repairing or replacing the Budlong community swimming pool.

The pool has been closed since 2019, and Hopkins was elected in 2020. Of the past six years of failure, only four of them are owned by Mayor Hopkins.

So, the Cranston 5-year-old who wanted to use the pool is now 11 years old. There is no pool for you again this summer, kid.

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Hopkins has repeatedly promised to deliver a new pool. However, in recent weeks, he announced that it would be delayed again.

We want to offer the pool-construction-challenged Mayor a few historical milestones to put the endless blundering in some context.

 

Here are how long some major construction projects took to build:

 

One Year

The Empire State Building was constructed in a record-breaking one year and 45 days, starting in March 1930 and completed in May 1931. 

 

 

Two Years

The construction of the Eiffel Tower took a remarkably short time: two years, two months, and five days, starting in January 1887 and finishing on March 31, 1889. 

 

 

Three Years

The construction of the Newport Bridge, now known as the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge, took approximately 3 years, from 1966 to 1969, with the bridge opening to traffic on June 28, 1969.

 

 

Four Years

Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge took 1,604 days, or a little over 4 years and 4 1/2 months. Work began on January 5, 1933, and the Bridge opened to vehicular traffic on May 28, 1937.

 

 

Five Years

The construction of the Hoover Dam, including the dam itself, the powerplant, and the related infrastructure, took five years, from 1931 to 1935, with concrete placement completed by May 29, 1935, and all features completed by March 1, 1936. 

 

 

Six Years and Counting

Fixing the Budlong community swimming pool in Cranston has still not been completed.

 

 

Ten Years

It took the United States approximately 10 years, from 1904 to 1914, to complete the construction of the Panama Canal, which opened to commercial traffic on August 15, 1914. 

 

Cranston residents can only hope that Hopkins can complete the new pool in less time than it took to dig the 51-mile Panama Canal [and before that 5-year-old is in high school].

Keep your fingers crossed.