It’s a 200-year-old problem we just can’t seem to solve

Richard Fulton

I ran across an interesting item in a London newspaper while on a short vacation there last week.

Benjamin Newton, the rector of a Yorkshire church, had written in his diary the following description of a short trip he took.

“Rode through a most beautiful country to Otley. The roads in many places for a mile or two scarcely passable .. it is a matter of great surprise that the road should be in such indifferent repair … through the whole of this manufacturing district … and from the whole of the distance from Congleton to Otley there were not 20 persons employed [in repairs] notwithstanding that they tell you that half the people are out of employ.”

This came to mind after reading an article in the St. Joe newspaper that chronicles the fact that the state is unable to keep up with critical repairs to bridges. MODOT cannot keep up with the repairs of hundreds, yes hundreds, of bridges listed in critical condition.

Several of those bridges are in northwest Missouri. Indeed, it seems to be that we need a declaration of “disaster” to get help from the federal government, as happened this month.

MODOT says they add to their list between 75 and 100 critical bridges a year while being able to fix only about 30.

I don’t want to think about this as I cross Missouri bridges.

And of course, the roads in Missouri are not in great shape either.

State spending on repairs in the coming year will be limited to critical repairs on the main highways, we are told, and emergencies on all others. Money from Missouri sources is simply not available.

If we look to the federal government for help, there is not much encouragement available.

Congress has had significant problems addressing the needs of America’s infrastructures. The highway bill has been stuck for months in the legislative process with only the hope of a short term extension of present programs.

This, of course, won’t do since present programs, level of funding, are already years behind the needs. Still, congress stumbles along.

Congress has responded to one area of transportation, however.

It has bowed to the trucking industry in moving to allow truckers to work 82 hours a week instead of the present limit of 70 hours.

Just what we need, tired truck drivers.

They want to allow some as young as 18 — an age famously known for being accident prone. I know, some states allow 18-year-olds to drive, but to put them on interstates with the ability to work 70 to 82 hours a week is just asking for problems.

Not to mention, getting back to road conditions, the Congress wants to allow longer and heavier trucks on our highways.

Trucks damage highways many times more so than automobiles.

So how does this fit with the poor conditions of our highways now?

We must find some thoughtful Missouri legislators, at least, who can recognize that more money is needed and the logical place to get that money is through a rise in the gas tax.

This is a user tax, those that destroy the roads pay for the roads.

Makes too much sense, I guess.

The Legislature tried to get Missourians to buy a sales tax for this purpose, but we didn’t buy that.

It would let trucks off the hook and hit the poor disproportionately. Given the low gas prices, this is the time to use the gas tax to fix our roads and bridges.

By the way, that rector over in England; his diary was written in September of 1816 — almost 200 years ago.

So you see, what we have here is the eternal problem of roads to fix and unemployed people that could be hired to fix them.

If Congress and the state Legislature could only learn this 200-year lesson.