Posted by Dan Phelan on Mon, Feb 28, 2011 @ 08:25 AM
If local municipalities can find a way to pay you, you're going to have a great 2011. In my 12 or so years of driving in the Northeast, I can't remember a time when public roads were in a worse state of disrepair. There was a study done in the town where I live that came to the conclusion that it would take 17 million to get the towns' roads back up to an acceptable level. Many of the roads in need of repair, are currently labeled with the status of "failed". I'm not familiar with what the criteria is for a road to be labeled this way, but I assume it has to do with significant cracking, potholes, and overall deterioration. With the amount of plowing that has gone on this winter, it's not much of a stretch to assume that Canton isn't the only town in Connecticut with road maintenance problems. It's hard to drive 15 minutes in any direction without encountering a tire-popping pothole or jaw-rattling frost heave. Connecticut isn't alone in its roadway woes. I had the pleasure of driving the Sawmill Parkway in New York state over the weekend, and their potholes put ours to shame!
So, with Governor Malloy's budget proposal, will there be funding left to make these repairs? Whether the money is there or not, two results would come from these construction projects. One, the construction industry is still surpassing a 20% unemployment figure and this will put people back to work in a more successful way than the "shovel ready" jobs that were promised in 2010. Secondly, it will show tax payers in Connecticut, who may very soon see an increase, that their money is actually doing something to stimulate the economy as well as make Connecticut's roads and highways safer for passengers as well the alignment of tires!
It's not debatable that the roads in Connecticut need repairs. It's debatable where and when the funding will come from. What do you think?