Have you noticed more and more stories about the condition of roads and bridges in the region appearing in the news lately? I think there are two reasons for this:
- Next week is the first day of Spring. What happens in Spring? Well, the potholes will be in full bloom.
- We are closer to the May 5 ballot proposal where we will be considering whether or not to provide additional revenues to improve our transportation system. In fact, the absentee ballots will be going out in the next couple of weeks.
Things are getting a bit crazy with recent incidences with tanker fires that have damaged pavement and bridges being reinforced due to deteriorating conditions. One story last week had certain legislators questioning the timing of certain bridge improvements to coincide with other messages related to the May 5 ballot proposal.
There is no doubt that the proposal is more complicated than any of us would have liked, but if you sit down and read it, I am confident that you can understand it. You can go to our website and read exactly what is included in the proposal. While you are there, you can also take a very short survey to let us know what your opinion of the conditions of our roads are and how you are feeling about the ballot proposal.
Please do everything you can to educate yourself about the proposal before you decide how you are going to vote. The last time road agencies received additional funding for road improvements was in 1997, 18 years ago. There is no guarantee that if this proposal fails, the legislature is going to act any time soon to provide the needed additional funding to help fix our roads. There is no identified Plan B, only the proposal before you. Choose wisely.
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