The Governor’s New Groove
February 19th, 2010 at 2:23 pm By Jeremy Dennison
Forced to choose only one, my personal favorite pothole is the extended rut that catches my tire every morning in the left lane of 35W North near Highway 62. Anyone making his or her way along Minnesota’s streets this winter is bound to be angered by the condition of our roadways. The frustration caused by this year’s bumper crop of cracked, broken pavement is mounting. While the season’s cycle of melting and refreezing ice is the main culprit behind the formation of potholes, we can thank lean budgets for their ubiquity and staying power.
The current method of dealing with potholes is to send out a road crew to dump asphalt into the hole until it can be properly repaired after the spring thaw. Now Governor Pawlenty has determined filling in the pockmarks isn’t one of its responsibilities. The cuts to the maintenance budget put the onus on city governments to pick up the slack, though they too have seen their budgets stretched beyond capacity. The Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities has found that 65% of Minnesota cities have cut back on road maintenance due to budget constraints. This means that these simple patches have often become the permanent fix. And while MnDOT accepts claims to pay for damaged cars, but their terms remain vague enough for most claims to be denied. Again, the department simply does not have the funds to pay to repair the roads or for the damaged caused by poor road conditions.
The problem is exacerbated as Minnesota’s cities and towns continue to expand its road network. Cities such as Dayton and Rogers are pressing to build an off ramp on Interstate 94 to attract more commerce and visitors to the area. The economic benefits to the area are obvious, though the requests come at a miserable time. The formula of more road surfaces minus fewer dollars for upkeep equals even poorer roads in the future. As we clamor to find money to construct new roads, but rarely is consideration given to the strains this places on maintenance budgets.
The governor’s new budget merely aggravates the problem. Ultimately, the expense is pushed onto the shoulders of Minnesotans who are forced to pay higher property taxes only to receive little in return but cratered roads and car repair bills.
More and more, the solution to Minnesota’s problems is to just keep shoveling asphalt into the potholes.
Tags: potholes
I’ve been driving for almost 40 years. I can remember times when one or two roads have been as bad as they are now, but I can’t remember when virtually all the roads have been this damaged. Every time I hit a bad pot hole I say out loud, “Thanks a lot, Tim!” It’s good to remember who’s responsible for this. Good luck riding a motorcycle this year.
Lat year I too drove up to Duluth on 35, and was dismayed to see large stretches of the raod that needed repair and upgrading. What is lost in all tis is that TOURISM is a critical component in Minnesota’s economy, and poor roads not only discourage driving in our state, they make a statement as to the quality of other aspects of Minnesota. Losing tourists is surely not a way to imporve our economy.
Our Gov has the idea that State government shouldn’t do more of anything because taxes are already too high.
He favors pot-hole filled roads over mass transit, non-public over public education, private health care over health insurance for all, and all kinds of fees and government outsourcing that are more unfair than taxes.
Folks should be looking at the Gov’s campaign contributors more closely if they want to discern his agenda.
See especially the analysis of the MAC’s (appointed by Pawlenty) Long-Term Capital Plan at http://www.quiettheskies.org.
If the governor and republicans favor the road over mass transit, why are you complaining about the roads? The democrat legislature has been moving money from roads to trains for many years now. This is not a dictatorship, if republicans could have their way we wouldn’t have any stupid trains and all the money would go to roads/bridges.
How could a fee for use be more unfair than making everyone pay through their income tax whether they use the service or not?
Andrew, as much as it pains me to give you a further forum express your knee jerk opposition to a all things ‘liberal,’ yet keenly aware you seem to have very little else to occupy your time, I am curious to know why you consider trains to be ‘stupid’?
Is it discomfort with the idea of people traveling together, an affinity for traffic jams, or do you just have a general dislike of putting steel and electricity together?
I actively promote the use of the term “Pawthole” to describe this phenomenon – a brand with potential sticking power as it can readily identify the intended message using a simple shortcut.
Wish I’d thought of it but I’m attributing it to reader letters from the strib, such as: “Feb 17, 2010 … My pickup bounced through two abysmal potholes, or ‘Pawtholes,’ as I call them, after their father, Tim Pawlenty. …”
The bridge fell, but Pawlenty seemed to have walked away unscathed. Without doing anything substantive about it. Oh, he did for a day and then apparently talked to the tax evaders league and Phil Krinkie,and he quickly returned to the corral. He and Molnau (who he appointed to DOT) should have a load of guilt, but I doubt that they do.
I hit a pothole on 169 last week and would up having to replace my tire. My car has only 16,000 miles on it. Should I bill the governor for the $150 for the new tire?
I’d bill the democrats who stole the money from the gas tax to build their choo-choo trains.