With the fatal bridge collapse in Minneapolis, the safety of our roads and bridges has taken a new urgency.
Not to miss a beat, State Sen. Thomas Libous, a Republican from the Binghamton area, revealed that the State has been diverting as much as $750 million a year from a fund that was created in 1991 and "dedicated" to bridge and highway maintenance and repair. He announced a bill to end the practice.
Remember the NYS Thruway Bridge collapse near Amsterdam in 1987? Several people lost their lives there. Traffic was disrupted for over a year. It happened practically in Sen Libous' back yard. The "dedicated" fund was created in 1991. We were never supposed to have to worry again about the safety of our roads and bridges. Then the Republicans became in charge a few years later. What happened? Memories must have been short.
Do people have to lose their lives to get the state to do what it is supposed to do? Maybe someone has to get killed every 5 years or so to remind these guys of why that fund was created.
1 comment:
10 people were killed over the Schoharie creek when that bridge collapsed in 1987. I had just crossed over it a few hours before it collapsed. I was rather freaked out for a few days. :-0
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