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Pocono News Section
Road Report Card: Keystone in Crisis
Road Report Card: Keystone in Crisis - Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 04:03AM EST
Reported by: Mike Trim
Tuesday May 25 2010
LUZERNE COUNTY -- Keystone in crisis. That's how engineers sum up the roads and bridges in the commonwealth. Pennsylvania's bridges earned a grade of "C" while our roads were given a "D-".
The 8th Street Bridge here in Jenkins Township is decades old and needs repair. But you don't have to tell Dave Dunsmuir that. "This bridge is long overdue. Should have been done 30 years ago," he said.
Dunsmuir agrees with the 2010 American Society of Civil Engineers report card for Pennsylvania. The state leads the nation in structurally deficient bridges and roads.
Just ask David Simmons. "They're pretty bad, they can be very bad. They bump you around quite a bit," he said.
Which is why the state transportation secretary says more work needs to be done, now. But a funding crisis is throwing up a roadblock. It's estimated 3.5 billion dollars is needed to repair every damaged road and bridge in the state. That's the money the state currently does not have in it's transportation budget.
There are signs of progress. The 8th Street Bridge is considered the most structurally deficient bridge in Luzerne County, but right next to it a new one is being built.
But a statewide facelift is far away, and some drivers think there's no excuse for this report card. Natalie Mark of Simpson says, "It's horrible, I don't understand why with all the inconvenience and construction that is on, especially on 81. To have a rating like that's not even acceptable." | | |
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